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Arizona wide receiver Greg Little has not caught a pass in the NFL since 2014 but the down time has not prevented him from making a strong impression in training camp this summer.

If that continues http://www.officialknightsproshop.com/authentic-adidas-brad-hunt-jersey , Little could find himself in the hunt for a starting position with a Cardinals team with no clear-cut favorite to pair with Larry Fitzgerald.

Little thinks about that every night.

"Every night before I go to bed, just try to realize and reflect and just kind of meditate a little bit about my journey and where I am and come out each day and try to get better," Little said. "How long it took and what's left on the plate for me to still accomplish and still go out and do it. Just try to achieve that each day."

Wide receiver Brice Butler, a free agent signee from Dallas, is listed No. 1 on the depth chart with Fitzgerald. Among the other competitors are holdovers J.J. Nelson and Chad Williams and second-round draft pick Christian Kirk, who appears to have secured a spot on the roster as the primary punt returner. Fitzgerald and Nelson are the only returnees with as many as 20 receptions in 2017.

The 29-year-old Little has 161 receptions in four NFL seasons, the first three with Cleveland after the Browns took him in the second round in 2011 out of North Carolina. He started 41 of 48 games with the Browns and was targeted more than 90 times each year, topping out at 61 receptions for 709 yards as a rookie. He led the team in catches his first two years.

After being cut by the Browns, he had six catches in six games with Cincinnati in 2014 and has not played in a regular-season game since. He spent time on the Bengals' practice squad in 2015 and was in Buffalo's training camp in 2016 before being released.

Little, 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, arrived in Arizona with little fanfare, candidly acknowledging the Cardinals were the only team that showed interest. After opening eyes at a rookie minicamp, he was intriguing enough to be asked back.

"The biggest thing that you see when he is out there, he does a tremendous job of catching the ball in traffic Andre Burakovsky Jersey ," Cardinals coach Steve Wilks said. "Big body. Can really create that separation. There are tight windows in this league, so you have to have receivers that can do those kinds of things. That is one of the things that stands out with Greg."

Cardinals safety Antoine Bethea, who has played 13 seasons, has seen the same thing.

"When he was at UNC, he was a beast," Bethea said. "He's definitely doing some good things out there, jumping out on film. Good strong hands. Running good routes. After three years and coming out here and looking really good, I'm excited to see him out there."

Little's time in Cleveland was up and down. He was among the league leaders in dropped passes in his three years. He also seemed to clash with head coach Mike Pettine. Little said Pettine did not communicate well, although other players came to Pettine's defense.

"Just a number of things that kind of led me to this position," Little said. "I'm here now. I just want to make the best of it. I'm confident in my ability to still play this game."

A large support group of family and friends helped him make it through the last few seasons, Little said, even if the games themselves were difficult to watch.

"Sometimes I didn't watch at all," he said.

Being back on the field "makes you appreciate the privilege it is to be in the NFL. Once you understand that, then all the other noise doesn't bother you."

He said he views this as a final opportunity Nicklas Backstrom Jersey , but mainly because of the potential for injury.

"I'm going to take that approach, being that the nature of this game as physical as it is, you have to," Little said. "Obviously, it's a reality for anybody that is playing this game."
The value Saints coach Sean Payton sees in Benjamin Watson has little to do with the career-best receiving numbers the veteran tight end put up the last time he played for New Orleans in 2015.

Watson wasn’t a featured receiver then, and won’t likely be this season, either.

Payton figures he can count on Watson being an exemplary leader in the locker room, a willing role player who’ll rarely blow an assignment – and someone who remains skilled enough at age 37 to help Drew Brees punish defenses that pay too much attention to star play-makers such as receiver Michael Thomas and running back Alvin Kamara.

Recalling a 2015 game in which Watson caught 10 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown against Atlanta, Payton said, ”I don’t know that the game plan called for that. It’s kind of just how it unfolded.”

”With Ben, you know he’s someone that has versatility and he’s a super teammate,” Payton said. ”He’s been a real dependable player. … You know exactly what you’re getting and there’s a value in that.”

Similarly, Watson said it would be too simplistic to view his 2015 receiving numbers – 74 catches for 825 yards and six touchdowns – as a main reason for his return to New Orleans after two years with Baltimore.

”I don’t know what to expect. Every year is different,” Watson said after a voluntary offseason practice on Thursday. ”Even when I was here the last time … I was here three years and my role was different every single year.

”You contribute in different ways. You’re healthy or not healthy. Another guy’s healthy or not healthy. You may be strong in one position and weaker in other positions Sammy Baugh Jersey ,” Watson said. ”There’s just this mix that happens every single year and you really don’t know what it is, really, until the end of the year.”

While Watson joined the Ravens in 2016, he missed that season because of a right Achilles tear. He came back last season, playing in all 16 games and catching 61 passes for 522 yards and four TDs.

”I proved last year that I can be dependable, that I can play the game and that I can contribute in a number of different ways,” said Watson, who signed a one-year, $2 million free agent contract with the Saints in late March. ”That’s why you sign guys to your team.”

Watson has attended two of three voluntary practices open to media so far this offseason and doesn’t seem to have lost the chemistry he’d developed with quarterback Drew Brees, whom Watson calls ”No. 9.”

Watson does not describe himself as the type of dynamic play-maker who’ll be Brees’ No. 1 option on a lot of plays called, but added, ”When you got a guy like No. 9 who can identify mismatches and knows what the coverage is going to do before it does it, then you get the ball.”

Watson began his career with New England, which made him a late-first-round draft choice out of Georgia in 2004. He was a Super Bowl champion as a seldom-used rookie Rigoberto Sanchez Jersey , but hasn’t won a ring since establishing himself as an NFL regular.

Watson views his return to New Orleans as a chance to join a contender, something the Saints weren’t when he last played for them in 2015.

Last season, boosted by a core of rookies and second-year players in prominent roles, the Saints came one play away from advancing to the NFC championship game.

”It’s about going places where not only do you have some familiarity – you enjoyed being there – but also giving yourself an opportunity to win,” Watson said. ”Winning is a big deal. It doesn’t happen for a lot of players over the course of their career.”

With the Saints, Watson said, ”You have the coaching staff, you have the front office, you have the fan base, you have the quarterback. … That’s definitely made coming to New Orleans very attractive.”

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