The Arizona Cardinals are less than a week away from the most important day of their summer: Sunday, Aug. 30, when they must trim their 90-man roster down to just 53 players.
Two crucial evaluation points remain: a joint practice and the final preseason game, both in Green Bay against the Packers. But for the most part, players have already put forth their body of work, with three preseason games and a month’s work of training camp practices. If they haven’t made a strong case yet, time is running out.
That also means we can put forth our most educated projection yet on the full depth chart and 53-man roster, in the wake of an ugly loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Saturday, Aug. 22, in their third preseason game.
Offense
Quarterback (3)
Starter: Jacoby Brissett
Backups: Gardner Minshew, Carson Beck
Beck’s injury to his ribs has proved to be more serious than it initially seemed. He was held out of most practice drills in the days leading up to Saturday's game. Still, the Cardinals don’t view it as a long-term concern, which means that he should start the season on the active roster as their third quarterback, behind Brissett and Minshew.
Running back (4)
Starter: Jeremiyah Love
Backups: Tyler Allgeier, James Conner, Bam Knight
Love is still sitting out with a high ankle sprain, while Conner hasn’t yet resumed his participation in 11-on-11 drills as he works back from last year’s foot injury. As a result, the Cardinals kept Knight on the sidelines against the Cowboys, as they preserve one of their top two healthy running backs. He should make the Week 1 roster as insurance.
Wide receiver (6)
Starters: Michael Wilson, Marvin Harrison Jr., Kendrick Bourne
Backups: Devin Duvernay, Reggie Virgil, Jalen Brooks
Duvernay rested alongside the starting trio against the Cowboys, so his spot as the dedicated return man should be secure. That seemingly leaves two roster spots for Virgil, Brooks and Simi Fehoko. If that’s the case, it could leave Fehoko below the cut line, despite a strong preseason. Virgil has shown encouraging signs as a fifth-round pick and Brooks has been a preseason MVP, so it’s hard to imagine either missing out. And keeping a seventh receiver would siphon depth from elsewhere.
Tight end (3)
Starter: Trey McBride
Backups: Elijah Higgins, Teagan Quitoriano
Head coach Mike LaFleur announced this week that blocking tight end Tip Reiman won’t be ready for Week 1, which means he’ll likely remain on the physically unable to perform list to open the season, ruling him out of the first four games. In his place, Quitoriano has been the blocking tight end of choice, though Rivaldo Fairweather has also seen some run with the starters.
Offensive tackle (4)
Starters: Paris Johnson Jr., Elijah Wilkinson
Backups: Josh Fryar, Jayden Williams
Not much to discuss here. Johnson and Wilkinson rested with the starters against the Cowboys, while Fryar and Williams bookended the offensive line. The Cardinals will almost certainly keep both young tackles as depth pieces while they continue their development. The team's 2024 fifth-rounder Christian Jones, meanwhile, is seemingly nearing the end of his time on the active roster.
Interior offensive line (5)
Starters: Isaac Seumalo, Hjalte Froholdt, Isaiah Adams
Backups: Jon Gaines, Hayden Conner
With second-round rookie guard Chase Bisontis out for the season, the Cardinals rested Gaines against the Cowboys, preserving their most important piece of interior offensive line depth. Conner is also likely bound for a roster spot. The 2025 sixth-rounder has struggled in preseason but can develop at his own pace as the fifth interior lineman.
Defense
Interior defensive line (6)
Starters: Walter Nolen, Roy Lopez, L.J. Collier
Backups: Darius Robinson, Andrew Billings, Dante Stills
The first three players here rested against the Cowboys, entrenching their status as key pieces up front. Beyond that trio, Billings will rotate in with Lopez at nose tackle, while Robinson and Stills are depth pieces at defensive tackle. Robinson’s inability to jump off the tape in preseason has been mildly concerning, but it likely won’t imperil his claim on a roster spot.
Edge rusher (5)
Starters: Josh Sweat, Zaven Collins
Backups: Baron Browning, Jordan Burch, Eku Leota
Will Josh Sweat — who has mysteriously remained on the sideline in street clothes all summer — be ready for Week 1? The Cardinals keep saying yes, but they have less than week to activate him off the PUP. Soon, it’ll be time to finally put some action where their words have been. Assuming Sweat is ready, there may be one roster spot between B.J. Ojulari and Eku Leota. That would be a test of whether the Cardinals are willing to move on from a former second-round pick (Ojulari) for a player who has been more impactful this summer (Leota).
Linebacker (4)
Starters: Mack Wilson, Jack Gibbens
Backups: Cody Simon, Karson Sharar
The only update here comes with Gibbens shifting into a starting job, ahead of Simon. The Cardinals telegraphed as much when they rested Gibbens against the Cowboys, despite a strong training camp from Simon. At a position where teams rarely rotate, that means Simon will need to show his development from the practice field.
Cornerback (6)
Starters: Will Johnson, Denzel Burke, Garrett Williams
Backups: Max Melton, Starling Thomas V, Sean Murphy-Bunting
Williams, activated off PUP this week, now projects as the Week 1 starter in the slot over Murphy-Bunting. On the outside, there’s still no separation between Burke and Melton, both of whom played against the Cowboys. Behind them, Thomas’ roster spot may not be completely secure, as he has struggled in preseason and played deep into the third quarter against the Cowboys. But with little competition deeper on the roster, it seems likely that the Cardinals will give him more time to get back up to speed after missing last season with a torn ACL.
Safety (4)
Starters: Budda Baker, Andrew Wingard
Backups: Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, Kitan Crawford
Taylor-Demerson exited the Cowboys game early with a rib injury, but LaFleur did not initially seem to think the issue was serious. That’s really the only uncertainty here. Wingard was rested and seems like the surefire starter, while no one deeper down the roster has made much of a claim to a surprise inclusion — unless Taylor-Demerson’s injury necessitates it.
Specialists
Kicker (1): Chad Ryland
Punter (1): Blake Gillikin
Long snapper (1): Casey Kreiter
Ryland was short and wide on a 62-yard try against the Cowboys, but otherwise had a good day, quieting concerns about his accuracy struggles. The bigger concern now is the status of Gillikin, who suffered a groin injury in pregame warmups. He is set to undergo an MRI, which will determine whether the Cardinals need to bring in a new punter.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals roster projection, depth chart after 3 preseason games
