Coley Harvey, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Marvin Lewis: Jermaine Gresham 'at a crossroads'

INDIANAPOLIS -- It was an opportunity for Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis to give one of his biggest unrestricted free agents a ringing endorsement.

The endorsement didn't come. It's possible it never will.

Asked at the NFL combine Thursday afternoon if there was a place on the roster for Jermaine Gresham, the embattled veteran tight end who will enter free agency next month, Lewis didn't say yes and he didn't say no. Instead, he put the ball in Gresham's court, saying the former Bengals first-round pick needs to figure out how he wants his career to progress.

"Jermaine, he's got a lot of things ahead of him," Lewis said. "And he's got to figure out what Jermaine Gresham wants to do. That's the most important thing. We were very fortunate to draft Jermaine when we did five years ago, and he's had five seasons where he's contributed to this football team.

"He's at a crossroads. It's, whats Jermaine want next? When he commits to whatever he wants next, then things will work out."

It's anyone's guess what those wishes are.

It's been written before but must be rehashed. There are some around the team who were disappointed with Gresham's decisions not to play in two of the more meaningful games late this season because of injuries.

After hobbling slightly while testing a bad toe before the Week 15 game at Cleveland, he decided to shut himself down for the game. Former Bengal and team radio analyst Dave Lapham was among the many who thought he looked OK enough to play in the important late-season AFC North game, and as a result was so surprised by Gresham's decision that he commented about it on-air during the pregame radio show. After the game, Gresham heard about what Lapham said and challenged him in the locker room while he was conducting a live radio interview with Lewis. Three days later, the tight end was back practicing.

Just before the wild-card round playoff game last month in Indianapolis, Gresham was on the field early testing out a back injury. Most who saw the pregame workout could tell he was banged-up, but believed he looked good enough to play.

He didn't.

In addition to being without Gresham that day, the Bengals already knew they wouldn't have Pro Bowler A.J. Green, and key pass-catchers Marvin Jones and Tyler Eifert had been out since the start of the season. The Bengals were so depleted at pass-catching positions that running back Rex Burkhead was used that afternoon as a slot receiver.

Regardless what perceptions exist about Gresham's decisions to not play in the two games, he still wasn't as dynamic in 2014 as he had been at earlier points in a rather rocky career. Called upon to be the only true pass-catching tight end with Eifert shelved, he caught 62 passes -- the second-most he's had in a season -- but had his lowest yards per reception average. He also fumbled three times, and had a series of drops and inexplicable cut-off routes that negated multiple would-be touchdown catches.

Gresham had a $4.8 million cap value in 2014, and made an average $2.8 million per year across his five seasons. Jordan Cameron, a Browns' unrestricted free agent and former fourth-round pick, made $1.6 million this past season. He could be among the free agents the Bengals consider if they don't bring Gresham back.

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