The tweet describing a play from Greg Dortch during one of the Cardinals' practices last week in Minnesota didn't have video to back it up.
Once it showed up via another tweet via the team's official account, Lorretta Dortch quickly found it.
"#PROOF" she tweeted with the video while quote-tweeting the original play-by-play. And her son could only smile at the reaction.
"I don't have my Twitter account right now but people send me stuff, like 'Bro, your Mom tweeted this.'" the wide receiver said. "Sometimes I've got to tell here, 'Ma, you got to relax a little bit.' She's like 'No, if I don't do it who else is going to do it.' It could be a bit much, but that's my Mom.
"A lot of people wish they had that. She's supporting me. I'm her only son. I love it. I'm not going to tell her to stop."
Dortch doesn't want to stop himself. Dortch again found a way back onto the Cardinals' roster even after a change at GM and head coach and overall direction of the team.
The 5-foot-7, 175-pounder certainly was one of the players that has stood out during training camp and the preseason, including a couple solid days in Minnesota against the Vikings.
"I just feel like I belong," Dortch said.
Dortch thought he had reached that level last season. With DeAndre Hopkins suspended the first six games, Dortch was the Cardinals' top wideout in the first three weeks, with 20 receptions on 23 targets. Over the next seven games, including Hopkins' return, he was targeted six times.
He had a big game in Mexico City, with nine receptions for 103 yards, but was inactive the following week and then targetless two straight games. He was back in the mix the final three games with 25 targets, and his 52 catches for 467 yards and two touchdowns were easily his best season since coming into the league in 2019. But the inconsistency of use was maddening.
"Lot of prayer. Not gonna lie. It was really tough," Dortch said. "I am a competitor. I want to play football. There are times to have that opportunity, and when It's there, and you are not put in the game, it hurts. You know how much you work.
"It's a long journey. It's been a long journey just to get here and it's not going to stop if I get there."
Last season, then-coach Kliff Kingsbury would often refer to the need for consistency when asked about Dortch's uneven playing time. Interestingly, that is the word first brought up by new coach Jonathan Gannon as well.
"We know he can play," Gannon said. "It's can you play every play and be consistent with what we're asking you to do. I like where his game is at."
The Cardinals have a five-man wide receiver corps, with Dortch joining Hollywood Brown, Rondale Moore, Zach Pascal and Michael Wilson. Dortch is expected to return punts, but his role in the offense is still TBA.
If he's called upon, Mama Dortch will be leading the charge. Or even Dortch himself, because he has no problem being his own hype man.
"I feel like I've been that my whole life," he said. "If you are not your biggest cheerleader, I mean, you can't expect people to be happy for you. That (stuff) has to come from within."
EXTRA POINTS
Gannon said offensive lineman Dennis Daley (ankle) will not be available Week 1. …
New waiver acquisition Elijah Higgins, who played wide receiver in college but spent the preseason with the Dolphins at tight end, will remain a tight end.
