Arizona Cardinals 2 battles at ILB

The Arizona Cardinals have a number of position and roster battles still going on in the preseason. At one position, there are two battles. One is for a starting job and the other is for what likely is the last spot on the roster at the position. That battle is at inside linebacker. Cardinals positi

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What is the story about?

The Arizona Cardinals have a number of position and roster battles still going on in the preseason. At one position, there are two battles. One is for a starting job and the other is for what likely is the last spot on the roster at the position.

That battle is at inside linebacker.

Cardinals position battles: starting ILB

Mack Wilson's role as the starting "Mike" linebacker, relaying defensive play calls to the rest of the team, is set. He returns to that role after missing the final nine games of the season with a rib injury.

At the other spot, veteran Jack Gibbens and second-year linebacker Cody Simon battle, but there might not end up being a winner.

Head coach Mike LaFleur said on Tuesday that whoever starts might be a week-by-week affair.

"I don't think there's a right or wrong answer

for that," he said. "It's just like a starting five in basketball. Some weeks it just makes sense to go with a little bit more length, or some weeks it may make more sense to have the shooters out there, just depending on the team."

Either way, both are roster locks along with Wilson.

Cardinals position battle: Final ILB

Keeping four inside linebackers makes sense for the Cardinals, and there are two guys battling for that spot — Owen Pappoe and Karson Sharar.

Pappoe is entering his fourth season, playing most of his career on special teams. He logged over 300 special teams snaps in each of the last two seasons.

He played 15 on special teams on Thursday against the Raiders.

Sharar is a rookie, drafted in the sixth round. He logged more than 1,000 special teams snaps in college and 16 in the game against the Raiders. He had a special teams tackle.

Pappoe is an athletic freak. Sharar has promising upside.

It will be a tough decision when the Cardinals have to cut the rosters to 53 players.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple Podcasts.