Instant Analysis: John Carlson Signs with Arizona
Things are heating up now as the free agency period is right around the corner. A few players have already been released and found new homes. One of those players is John Carlson, formerly of the Minnesota Vikings. Carlson signed a two-year deal with Arizona today. While this signing may fly under the radar, it does have a bit of an impact in dynasty leagues.
Let’s take a quick look at the players whose values have changed a bit.
John Carlson, TE ARI
As for Carlson himself, this move really doesn’t mean that much. After inking a nice contract with Minnesota a couple of years ago, he was only able to muster 40 catches for 387 yards and one score over the past two seasons. In fact, outside of a 7/98/1 performance against Washington last season, he’s been mostly invisible.
Carlson has battled his share of injuries over the years, including a nasty concussion. Expecting a resurgence in the desert as a part-time player in an offense designed to not even support one tight end for fantasy purposes would be considered wishful thinking at best. Carlson needs to remain on waiver wires.
Rob Housler, TE ARI
Housler has long been a sleeper favorite of ours here at DLF, but even we (see Stewart, Jonathan) know when to throw in the towel. Unless your league rewards points for blocking as a tight end, it’s going to be tough to justify holding on to Housler. He had 39 catches for 454 yards and one score last year in what was widely regarded as a disappointment. If he was to match that in 2014, that would be considered a success.
Enough said.
Kyle Rudolph, TE MIN
The player who really benefits the most from Carlson leaving Minnesota is Kyle Rudolph. His 2013 season was lost after week nine with a broken foot, but he’s said to be recovering nicely. With Norv Turner and his very “tight end friendly” offense in tow, Rudolph is set for a major bounce back campaign. Yes, they still need a quarterback in Minnesota, but remember what Turner did with Jordan Cameron when you create your cheat sheets this season. At just 24 years of age, Rudolph is looking very much like a buy low, potential breakout player at the position – respond accordingly in start-up dynasty drafts or in trade discussions.
FREE AGENCY UPDATE
Just so everyone know what to expect next week, keep DLF at the top of your daily bookmarks. You can expect us to post “Instant Analysis” pieces on the major free agent signings in our free content and we’ll also have our annual all-encompassing Free Agency Blog and the end of our 32 team capsules within our Premium Content.
It should be a very fun week!
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Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK
