It appears Michael Crabtree won’t be playing for the Arizona Cardinals, after all.
After reports surfaced earlier Monday that the Cardinals would sign the free agent wide receiver after working him out earlier in the day, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported late Monday night that the two sides did not come to an agreement, and Crabtree “remains a free agent and is looking for a new team.”
According to Schefter, the Cardinals did indeed offer Crabtree a contract, leading to reports Crabtree had signed with the team. But the two sides were ultimately unable to hammer out a deal, according to Schefter.
Crabtree, who turns 32 in September, had gone unsigned following his release from Baltimore in February. He had 54 catches for 607 yards and three scores in 16 games with the Ravens last season.
The Cardinals have a wealth of receivers on their roster. Larry Fitzgerald and 2018 second-round pick Christian Kirk are expected to start, and free agent signee Kevin White was listed ahead of three rookie draft picks — Andy Isabella (second round), Hakeem Butler (fourth) and KeeSean Johnson (sixth) — on the team’s initial depth chart, which was released Saturday.
Crabtree spent his first six NFL seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, who drafted him 10th overall in 2009, before joining the Oakland Raiders for three seasons. He was released by Oakland in March 2018. In 141 career games (138 starts), Crabtree has 633 catches for 7,477 yards and 54 touchdowns.
Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury and Crabtree both played in college under coach Mike Leach at Texas Tech, though Kingsbury graduated four years before Crabtree arrived in Lubbock (2006).
Kingsbury’s Air Raid scheme is expected to feature four- and five-wide receiver sets — rare personnel groupings for most NFL teams — with regularity.
–Field Level Media
