Is Lack of Tight End Depth Blinding Packers in Andrew Quarless Decision?

The Green Bay Packers have a reputation in the NFL for being a family-friendly organization that keeps high-character players on its roster and likewise shies away from signing free agents or draft prospects with red flags.

This happens sometimes at the expense of improving positions of weakness, but the message the team has sent boils down to this: Winning is not more important than character. 

Head coach Mike McCarthy has always espoused the importance of having "Packer People" on the roster: "You have to create that stable structure....look for the right type of Packer people," he said in 2006, per Rob Reischel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "Chemistry and character needs to be concentrated on at all times."

In fact, in 2014 Reischel shared the following information from USA Today regarding player arrests, charges and citations: "Since Ted Thompson took over as Green Bay's general manager in January 2005, though, the Packers' record for staying out of trouble has been even better. USA Today lists 11 player arrests in Thompson's nearly 10 years on the job—or 1.1 a year."

The Packers had 17 in the span between January 2000 and September 2014. Since January 1, 2015, there have been four, per USA Today's database:

• January: Defensive end Datone Jones was cited for possession of marijuana in Green Bay following the NFC Championship Game loss against the Seattle Seahawks. He was convicted, charged a $880 fine and issued a one-game suspension by the NFL.
• February: Defensive tackle Letroy Guion was arrested in Florida for felony drug possession and possession of marijuana (357 grams). He agreed to a plea deal and was placed on probation. 
• March: Just a few days before he became a free agent, cornerback Jarrett Bush was taken into custody in California for public intoxication. The case was dropped. 
• July: Tight end Andrew Quarless was arrested for firing a gun while arguing with a group of women in Florida. The resolution is undetermined. 

The Packers have shown in the past that they can be more lenient when it comes to drug charges. They welcomed Johnny Jolly back to the team after his NFL suspension and subsequent jail time served for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. In fact, it wasn't his legal issues, but a neck injury that cut short Jolly's second chance in Green Bay. 

Thompson also took a flier on troubled undrafted free agent Colt Lyerla in 2014, who had pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine while at Oregon and then quit the team. Lyerla didn't make an impact during training camp and suffered a knee injury in practice, finally reaching an eight-week injury settlement. Two weeks after the Packers released him, he was arrested for a DUI.

Quarless' recent arrest, however, was not a drug charge. It was a violent and reckless act that could have injured himself or others. 

Per the Miami New Times' Tim Elfrink, the police report described the events as follows:

"

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."

After the parking attendant called 911, police quickly responded and found the black Porsche a few blocks away. Quarless was soon found in front of Siena Tavern, police say, "attempting to conceal himself and a black firearm in a nearby plant.

"

Discharging a firearm in public is a first-degree misdemeanor in Florida, punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed one year and/or a fine not to exceed $1,000, per state law. 

Not long after details emerged about the incident, ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky reported that, per two sources, the Packers don't plan to release Quarless. Also per Demovsky, Quarless was released from custody, and no future court dates have been set.

The team has only released the following statement, per the Press-Gazette's Ryan Wood: "We are aware of the matter involving Andrew Quarless and are in the process of gathering more information. We will withhold further comment."

It's unclear if the Packers would revisit the option of releasing Quarless should his legal situation escalate—if, for example, he were hit with all or part of the potential one-year jail sentence. However, it is Quarless' first offense, so that seems unlikely. 

Still, even if the legal process plays out and Quarless is not convicted, he could still be subject to discipline from the league. 

According to the NFL's personal conduct policy—and whether fans like it or not—NFL players are held to a higher standard than a typical employee. Fans cry out for the NFL to let the legal system take its course, but the truth is that the league can still punish NFL players for off-field transgressions even if they are not found guilty of a crime:

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While criminal activity is clearly outside the scope of permissible conduct, and persons who engage in criminal activity will be subject to discipline, the standard of conduct for persons employed in the NFL is considerably higher. It is not enough simply to avoid being found guilty of a crime. Instead, as an employee of the NFL or a member club, you are held to a higher standard and expected to conduct yourself in a way that is responsible, promotes the values upon which the League is based, and is lawful.

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Does Quarless, given his recent actions, fit the definition of Packer People? Can he continue to fit the mold of a team leader that left tackle David Bakhtiari described to Reischel?

"I'd say it's a mix between character and expectation," Bakhtiari said. 'Our leaders are excellent examples of making sure you stay out of trouble and I think the younger guys catch onto that."

Quarless, a six-year veteran, is the de facto leader among a tight end unit featuring a second-year player in Richard Rodgers; a rookie, Kennard Backman; an undrafted rookie in Mitchell Henry; and former practice squad player Justin Perillo.

Quarless is the only tight end among that group with more than 500 career receiving yards, 500 career snaps and 50 receptions. Are the Packers choosing not to cut him because they don't believe his incident was serious?

Or is it because they don't have the depth at tight end?

This is how the Packers' current group at tight end shapes up.

Player	Exp.	Career Snaps	Career Rec.	Career Yds	Career TDs
Andrew Quarless	6	2,190	85	909	6
Richard Rodgers	2	543	20	225	2
Justin Perillo	2	11	0	0	0
Kennard Backman	R	0	0	0	0
Henry Mitchell	R	0	0	0	0
Harold Spears	R	0	0	0	0

Really, Green Bay hasn't been strong at the position since Jermichael Finley injured his neck in 2013. That season, Finley had already racked up 300 yards and three touchdowns through six games. He wasn't a complete threat, with low ratings on Pro Football Focus for both pass and run blocking, but he was a legitimate weapon in the seam and a go-to for Aaron Rodgers, averaging four receptions a game. 

Quarless has been the Packers' best option at replacing that level of production from Finley, but he's never been a full-time starter. He shared the starting job with Rodgers in 2014, a year in which Quarless had a career-high 11 starts. 

Without Quarless in 2015, the Packers would be undoubtedly weak and inexperienced at the position. In 2014, Rodgers showed flashes of being able to compete to be the starting tight end, especially improving in run blocking toward the end of the year and earning praise from Aaron Rodgers for his reliable hands. 

"He's got incredible hands; I dare say the best hands on the team," Aaron Rodgers said of Richard Rodgers at the end of the season, per Robert Zizzo of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. 

But Rodgers is still only heading into his second year. It would hurt the position to ask him to carry the load if Quarless were cut, and if anything happened to him there's no telling if Perillo or the rookies would be able to step up. 

Thompson knows this, and it obviously factored into the Packers' initial instinct not to cut Quarless based on this incident. Could that change in the near future depending on the legal and league punishments doled out? Absolutely. But that doesn't mean the Packers will be any less prepared to go on without him.

Tight end was a glaring need for Green Bay heading into the offseason. Some draft analysts thought the Packers would target it as early as Round 1 or 2, with Minnesota's Maxx Williams. After Williams went off the board, so too followed potential Day 1 starters in Clive Walford, Tyler Kroft and Jeff Heuerman. 

The Packers instead addressed the need with Backman, a UAB product who was projected to go undrafted, in Round 6. 

There were also multiple tight ends available on the free-agency market, but the Packers displayed their usual reticence. Julius Thomas, Charles Clay, Lance Kendricks, Jordan Cameron, Owen Daniels, Scott Chandler and James Casey all signed with new teams at price points ranging from $9.2 million a year to $1.25 million, per Spotrac.com. 

The Packers organization may find Quarless' behavior reprehensible, not fitting of Packer People. Or it may think that, given it was a first-time offense, it was a lapse in judgment. But a team should never be in a position where a player who may not fit within the framework of its philosophy after all is indispensable.

Those who followed Quarless' college career may remember that he had some red flags entering the 2010 NFL draft. He was arrested for a DUI in 2008 and former Penn State head coach Joe Paterno wanted to cut him.

"I spoke my piece and really told him I was going to change. And he gave me that one more chance," Quarless told Jason Wilde of ESPN Wisconsin. 

Quarless was suspended for one more game in his senior year when marijuana was found in an apartment he shared with roommates, but the Packers, from Thompson down to then-tight ends coach Ben McAdoo, felt confident in drafting him. 

"The kid seemed pretty forthright with everything that's happened, and we feel confident that he's on the right path now," Thompson said back in 2010, per Wilde. "We looked into that obviously very hard, as we do all those things. We don't think that's going to be an ongoing problem."

Does recklessly firing a gun in a densely populated area constitute an "ongoing problem" with Quarless' character? If the Packers don't release him, perhaps it doesn't in the organization's eyes. 

Training camp begins on June 30. It's unlikely that Quarless' legal issues will be resolved before then. Quarless is entering the second year of a two-year deal worth $3 million and will become an unrestricted free agent in March.