Jermichael Finley is healthy and hoping a team is ready to take a chance on him for 2014. The tight end suffered a career-threatening injury in a contract year which has hurt his employment status this offseason. After undergoing neck fusion surgery, Finley has been cleared by his personal doctor, but has yet to get clearance from an NFL team doctor. The tight end has taken a few visits in the past week, but are teaming not giving him a serious look because of his health?
The New England Patriots were the favorites to sign Finley even before he received clearance. The team dealt with depth issues for most of 2013 after losing Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski. Hoping to not have that problem again, the Patriots loaded up on receivers this offseason, but have been linked to possibly adding one more before training camp begins. However, according to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe, that might not be the case anymore thanks to improvement by Gronkowski.
Gronkowski is currently rehabbing a torn ACL after suffering an array of injuries over the past two seasons. He has yet to participate in team workouts, but Volin reports the tight end looks strong in individual drills. Volin writes Gronkowski was "bursting, planting and cutting" during Thursday's practice. He appears to have no physical limitations following rehab and the Patriots remain confident that he will be fully healthy come Week 1. The tight could open camp on the PUP list, but after the way he looked during a week of practice, that might no longer be the case.
The improving health of Gronkowski means Finley is not a necessity right now. Even if Finley gets medically cleared by NFL doctors, it does not mean a team is ready to put him on the field just yet. The tight end's injury normally means a year away from the game if people go by Peyton Manning standards, so he might not be ready to contribute immediately. Volin writes that the team may out to continue to monitor Gronkowski's development and then make a play for Finley if he suffers some kind of setback.
There are still plenty of options for Finley. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, the Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers remain interested as well as the Green Bay Packers. However, it might take another injury for Finley to get a roster spot.
