Days after Arizona tight end D.C. Jefferson was arrested, the Cardinals have made a change at the position.
The team has announced that Jefferson has been released, and Jake Ballard has been signed.
Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic reports that Jefferson, a rookie seventh-round draft pick, was arrested on Friday in Scottsdale for driving under the influence.
That arrest obviously didn’t help Jefferson’s chances of staying with the Cardinals, although the decision to make a switch at tight end may have been simply a matter of getting better at tight end. Jefferson had seen very little playing time this season and hadn’t caught a single pass. Ballard, on the other hand, was looking like a good young player for the Giants before he blew out his knee in the Super Bowl 21 months ago.
Jefferson getting cut is another reminder that in the NFL, a good player can get arrested and keep his job. A mediocre player cannot.
Ballard was waived by the Giants in 2012 and picked up by the Patriots. He spent all of last year on New England’s physically unable to perform list and was released by the Patriots at the end of the preseason this year.