Charles

Clay

It’s the first team to visit with Clay, who opted out of 2020. Clay has a history with Ravens OC Greg Roman, playing under him for two seasons with Buffalo. He wouldn’t be more than a No. 3 tight end in Baltimore behind Mark Andrews and Nick Boyle.

Clay last played for the Cardinals in 2019, catching 18 passes in 15 games. Fantasy managers will remember Clay from his days in Miami, where he totaled 127 receptions in 2013 and 2014. Now 32, Clay could get some run for a team without a locked-in TE1.

Clay finishes his age-30 season with 18 receptions, 237 yards, and one touchdown on 24 targets. The veteran split snaps with Maxx Williams in Arizona and was never on the fantasy radar. Clay will head into free agency as a limited depth option who should only fetch $1 million or so annually. Clay will be playing for his fourth NFL team assuming he doesn’t re-sign with the Cardinals.

Clay looks closer to doubtful after not practicing all week. With Darrell Daniels sidelined, Maxx Williams should see close to an every-down role if Clay is held out.

Clay suffered the injury after reeling in a 16-yard reception from Kyler Murray. Maxx Williams will work as the offense’s undisputed lead TE while Clay is sidelined.

Clay has more than two receptions in exactly one game this season. He’s not a realistic fantasy option as long as he continues to split reps and targets alike with Maxx Williams.

The Cardinals didn’t actually practice Monday, but are required to submit an estimated practice report. It’s unclear how banged up the Cardinals’ 30-year-old TE is after posting a season-best 3-88-0 line in Week 8. Still, both of Clay’s chunk gains were largely the result of busted coverage, making this sort of production unlikely to continue in future weeks. Clay (41% snaps in Week 8) isn’t a fantasy option as long as he continues to split reps with Maxx Williams (41%).

Clay got started early, catching a 47 yard bomb after some trickery from coach Kliff Kingsbury that featured Kyler Murray throw a backwards pass to Christian Kirk, before receiving the ball back and eventually finding the TE down the field. Clay also got open later with the help from some broken coverage for another nice gain. Still, Clay continues to lose plenty of snaps and a bit of pass-game work to Maxx Williams (1-9-0), rendering him a non-viable fantasy option as the usual No. 5 or worse target in this offense.

Clay looks like the favorite to start Week 1 over Ricky Seals-Jones and Maxx Williams. Even in a pass heavy scheme, he’s an afterthought in this offense.

Corner Brandon Williams was also activated. Clay will compete with Ricky Seals-Jones, rookie Caleb Wilson, and Maxx Williams, who played most first-team snaps in the preseason opener. Clay was a healthy scratch down the stretch last year, so he shouldn’t be much of a factor in the passing game, even if the Cardinals are playing fast with Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray.