The Arizona Cardinals finally signed NFL veteran Michael Crabtree, a move that is expected to further boost their offensive end. The 31-year-old receiver agreed to a one-year deal with the Cardinals and is expected to fit in nicely to their new-look offense.

Crabtree joins a stacked Cardinals offensive line that includes rookie Kyler Murray, David Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, and Christian Kirk. After spending last season with the Baltimore Ravens, the NFL veteran will have less than three weeks to blend in with his new team. Arizona plays its first regular-season games on September 8 against the Detroit Lions, the New York Post reported.

Crabtree's signing gives first-year coach Kliff Kingsbury some needed relief. Early this week, the depth chart of the Cardinals took a hit with rookie receiver Hakeem Butler suffering a hand injury. He is expected to miss the rest of the preseason and possibly part of the regular season.

The 10th overall pick of the 2009 NFL Draft will be entering his 11th season. He has 633 career catches for 7,477 yards and 54 touchdowns. With the Ravens last season, he started in 16 games and had 54 catches for 607 yards and three touchdowns.

It was only two weeks ago when Crabtree worked out for the Cardinals at the State Farm Stadium. Both sides were unable to come to an agreement at the time before talks ramped up. To accommodate Crabtree, the Cardinals had to release Kevin White early Wednesday, Azcardinals.com reported.

And while the Cardinals seem to have a good offensive line for the coming season, NFL fans will have to wait a bit to see how Kingsbury's new look offense will pan out. The Cardinals hardly showed what is capable of in the offensive end during the preseason with Kingsbury admitting that they are keeping it close to their vest for now, NBC Sports reported.

Instead, the Cardinals focused on trying to get their players acquainted with each other and doing the basics. Pundits feel that Arizona does not exactly have a pretty good roster although Kingsbury and company could very well change that once the 2019 NFL season gets underway.

“We’re trying to get our players used to playing with each other. But . . . it’s interesting for me, because this is the NFL, and I’ve never called a game in my life where I wasn’t in straight attack mode. Kyler and I are adjusting to that.”

Michael Crabtree Raiders
Michael Crabtree has recorded 347 catches and 4,327 receiving yards in 79 career games. Reuters
RELATED STORIES
National Football League NFL