The Arizona Cardinals are working diligently to get ready for the remainder of the preseason lineup. These three exhibition games will give the coaching staff definitive answers on which players to retain on the final 53-man roster.
For now, it is just battle after battle for not only roster spots, but positions on the depth chart.
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On Sunday, the Cardinals held their annual Red/White practice, open to the public, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale. Thousands
of fans filled the lower bowl. Included was a Kids Interactive Zone on the Red Zone Bridge.
Let’s start with the quarterback room.
Jacoby Brissett, despite missing all of that time in the spring, is the obvious starting candidate. While we all saw how accurate rookie Carson Beck was on long throws in the Hall of Fame Game, Brissett is struggling with the deep ball. He had 7-8 deep balls that were either too far or too much to the side from his intended receiver. Most were to Marv Harrison. The pair did stay after practice and worked on this.
What’s unusual about this is that Brissett has been nailing his deep passes with good accuracy. But not today.
Beck continues to impress. He had some great ball placements but did have a pick. In the two-minute drill, he was definitely in charge and had a no-look pass for a touchdown, which made the crowd happy with loud applause. He hit fellow rookie WR Reggie Virgil for a touchdown in the back of the end zone that was laid in perfectly. Virgil looks really good, and then will make a dumb rookie mistake, so the learning curve is still there. Jaylen Brooks looks like a keeper. He picked up right where he left off from the HOF Game and has proven to be a tough kid. He is fearless going across the middle.
Gardner Minshew continues to step in with the first team and has shown consistency with a good touch on the intermediate throws. He appears comfortable running this offense and right now is penciled in as QB2. It is obvious this coaching staff wants Brissett to run this offense, but Minshew shows an eagerness to step in or step up.
With the running back room, it is looking more and more like Tyler Allgeier is standing in the starting role with rookie Jeremiyah Love as his backup. However, in Madden 27, Love is a beast, especially in the passing aspect.
Allgeier looks great when he is looking for a gap and will hit the hole hard, but he does not have good hands while trying to catch balls. He will catch two, then drop a pair – once he was wide open. Somebody better stick him in the receiver room quickly for tutelage because both Love and James Conner can make a difference in the passing game. This offense requires backs who are involved in the short passing game. Each practice, it seems more likely that Trey Benson might become the odd man out. He did not suit up for this practice. Bam Knight spent the majority of practice as a kickoff returner. It is speculated that if he is assigned this duty, then he can make the final roster as a kickoff returner and a third-down back.
Love looks great at everything he does. He has great cutting ability with extremely good hands in the short game. He is getting his fair share of first-team reps, which is good if Allgeier can’t learn to catch passes. Soon. Most likely, come time for the real games, Love will see plenty of live snaps. When the herd arrives, you don’t keep your prize bull locked up.
In the 1-on-1 drills, TE Trey McBride beat S Budda Baker in the right corner of the end zone with a soft, accurate throw by Brissett. McBride earlier had a false start called on him.
Harrison has had a great camp, but today he was targeted but just couldn’t haul in any passes. A good number of passes sent his way weren’t catchable. Ihmir Smith-Marsette has shown quite a bit of talent and has flashes. He had two nice plays and could become yet another weapon on this offense. He continues to impress. However, he has got to find a way to stay on the field, and the receiver room is chock-full of talent this year.
Another receiver who everyone is watching is Bryson Green. He grabbed several balls that had him extend his entire length. The rookie Virgil continues to impress. Kendrick Bourne is quietly showing why the team hustled after him in free agency.
The most impossible decisions with this coaching staff will be which six receivers to keep. They could easily retain eight guys, and in probability, they will want at least eight. This team is going to cut some good talent in the receiver room. Virgil, Green, Smith-Marsette, Bourne, and Brooks are all looking like good players.
Isaiah Adams is still the leading man for the right guard position. That became obvious in the Hall of Fame Game when Arizona trotted out its entire second-string offense, and rookie Chase Bisontis started with that unit. The two are still handling first-team reps, but Adams is getting the most. In the Cardinals’ first official depth chart, he is listed as the starter and Oli Udoh at RG3. Bisontis does look more and more comfortable with each practice and gets off on the snap count every time.
Let’s go ahead and state this right now. The Cardinals have a new offense that will eventually become successful, just like the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers. This year’s roster has great talent at receiver, running back, and the league’s best tight end. However, all of this will be lost if the offensive line does not gel and become a cohesive group. In most practices, they look lost and are not working as a complete unit.
The fact that there are three new players will justify why this is taking so long. And the amount of pre-snap penalties is staggering. An expensive and great-looking rim is nothing mounted to a tire that can’t hold air.
As shown during the HOF Game, the second-team offensive line group seems to be playing well while the starters are having issues. Pre-snap penalties are an everyday affair with this group. Holding is another problem. LG Isaac Seumalo will look great on one play, then lost on another. He hasn’t started melding with C Hjalte Froholdt quite yet. That needs to be consistent, as the bond between a center and guard is critical.
The official depth chart lists Elijah Wilkinson as the starting RT, but his backup, Josh Fryar, isn’t far behind. This will continue to be a position battle. Fryar looked really good in the HOF Game with only one penalty and zero sacks allowed.
One player who is standing out is DE Darius Robinson. Most have written him off, and some of the media have stated they thought this might be the last Cardinals training camp for him. But he is balling and having a strong camp. Which spells “hooray!” to all Arizona fans. A pass rusher opposite Josh Sweat is sorely needed. He is showing both speed and power and has gotten into the offensive backfield frequently with an unofficial two sacks today.
Not sure what this means, but LB Eku Leota, CB Elijah Jones, and S Kitan Crawford all were featured with the first-team defense. We know the defensive backfield is the strongest and deepest group on the roster, but seeing these three, who appeared to wrap up spots on the second team, was a different wrinkle. But then news came that S Joey Blount was placed on IR and Kei’Trel Clark did not suit up, so everyone was elevated.
Leota is looking really good and is fighting to not only make this final roster, but he could be a special teams guru and get plenty of defensive snaps. Right now, he is considered a bubble player and needs to stand out in preseason games. LB Cody Simon is having a very good camp. He batted away two balls and was in line for several tackles.
Also in attendance were the Cardinals Cheerleaders squad along with the Junior cheerleaders and Junior Flag Crew.
DT Walter Nolen left the field again. This time he jogged off but was seen earlier shaking his hand as if to revive it. No word was given in Mike LaFleur’s post-practice press conference that Nolen had any issues, but he did not return to the field.
Kicker Chad Ryland had two field goal attempts and nailed both. He was perfect in the HOF Game. Hopefully, he can do better in his kicks of 50+ this year. The UFL had guys who were kicking 50+ almost every game and had five 60+ field goals for their season with that new four-point rule. A kicker who is consistent in the 50+ arena is such a weapon and can transform a stalled drive into points.
