Cardinals sign former Bills TE Charles Clay to 1-year deal

The Arizona Cardinals signed veteran tight end Charles Clay to a one-year deal on Tuesday, four days after he was released by the Buffalo Bills.

The 30-year-old Clay was entering the final year of a five-year, $38 million contract and was waived by Buffalo to clear $9 million of cap space.

According to 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro, Clay also drew interest from the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Miami Dolphins before signing with the Cardinals.

Clay’s contract will pay him up to $3.25 million and includes a $350,000 signing bonus, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Clay’s production waned last year, as he played in 13 games and caught 21 passes for 184 yards without a touchdown. In the six prior seasons, he had recorded at least two touchdowns and no fewer than 528 receiving yards.

His best season came in 2013 with the Dolphins, when he tallied 759 yards and six touchdowns. Clay was targeted 103 times and caught 69 passes that year.

Clay played for the Dolphins from 2011-14 before joining the Bills from 2015-18.

The 2011 sixth-round pick out of Tulsa joins an Arizona team lacking depth at the tight end position.

While the Cardinals will return veteran Jermaine Gresham, they could potentially lose their top pass-catching option Ricky Seals-Jones, who is an exclusive rights free agent. Seals-Jones was targeted 69 times and caught 34 passes for 343 yards and a touchdown in 2018.

John Phillips (three catches for 38 yards) and Darrell Daniels (two targets) are also free agents for Arizona.

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