When news broke that Green Bay Packers tight end Andrew Quarless had been arrested for discharging a firearm in public, his future with the team was a question.
However, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reports that Green Bay plans to keep the 26-year-old on the roster, citing two sources that said “the Packers have no plans to release the sixth-year veteran.”
Quarless and Richard Rodgers are expected to battle for the starting role on the dangerous Packers offense.
Quarless finished the 2014 campaign with 29 catches for 323 yards and three touchdowns. Rodgers, a third-round pick last May, totaled 20 receptions, 225 yards and two touchdowns during the regular season before snagging five passes for 48 yards and a score in the playoffs.
With that being said, Rodgers could become the No. 1 tight end by default. Demovsky notes Quarless could be subject to discipline from the league:
“The [NFL’s personal conduct] policy states that a player could be placed on paid administrative leave or on the commissioner’s exempt list if ‘formally charged with a crime of violence, meaning that you are accused of having used physical force or a weapon to injure or threaten another person.'”
Tim Elfrink of the Miami New Times has the background of the Quarless story:
“According to the parking attendant, Quarless and another man—identified as Michael Ritchie, a 31-year-old from New York — were leaving the garage in a black Porsche Panamera when they approached a white car filled with several women. An argument ensued, with the attendant hearing the women yell, ‘No! Get away! Leave me alone!’
That’s when Quarless took out a semiautomatic handgun — ID’ed by police as a .45-caliber weapon — and fired two shots, one straight up into the sky. Why? When police later interviewed a woman in Quarless’ car, she said he’d fired “in an attempt to emphasize his dominance and manhood.”
Quarless is entering the latter season of a two-year deal worth $3 million, according to Spotrac.
Photo: USA Today Sports