The Arizona Cardinals had long conversations and several significant decisions to make when the roster was reduced to 53 on Sunday.
That was followed by the addition of 16 players to the practice squad on Monday and Tuesday, leaving one spot to be filled.
Head coach Mike LaFleur addressed several of the position groups earlier this week.
Wide receivers
The first four spots were easy to figure out with Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson, Kendrick Bourne and Devin Duvernay, who is the kick returner.
Who would make it from the trio of Simi Fehoko, Jalen Brooks and rookie fifth-round pick Reggie Virgil? It turned out all of them did.
Asked if he expected to keep seven, LaFleur said, “I've only done that once I guess over my career, but it's not like it's too uncommon.
There are a lot of factors. Some of these guys are competing against other guys in the room, but they're also competing against other positions and where are you able to go light in some other aspect if whoever you end up keeping is going to provide particularly on special teams, and so that's kind of where it went.
“It was the conversation in here about how deep that receiver room was, and we thought that Jalen, Simi, some of those guys, obviously Devin as a returner, they provide special teams at a high clip.”
Running backs and tight ends
Those positions are now tight with only three players in each: runners Jeremiyah Love, Tyler Allgeier and Bam Knight with Trey McBride, Elijah Higgins and trade acquisition Hunter Long at tight end.
Each position has practice squad players: running back Evan Hull and tight ends Shawn Bowman and Teagan Quitoriano. With Love uncertain for Week 1 because of a high-ankle sprain, Hull could be a likely Week 1 elevation.
Long was with the Rams in 2023-24 when LaFleur was the team’s offensive coordinator, and he is known for his blocking, which is a need with Tip Reiman beginning the season on the PUP reserve.
LaFleur said, “He has experience in this offense, blocking our wide zone, blocking our duos, understanding our terminology. I had a conversation with him this morning. There is some new verbiage. Usually when you go to a new building, you try to clean it up a little bit. So he's got a learning curve right there, but should be able to fit in pretty seamlessly from a fundamental standpoint.
“I think Teagan's done a really good job in terms of what we're trying to get done. I think it just adds to that room and gives us a little bit, I would say, more of an insurance policy with that room.”
Long has played five NFL seasons, but only 46 games, including 17 with the Rams in 2023. He played only four the next season because of ankle, hip and knee injuries. Last season, he played nine games with the Jaguars.
Bye, bye BJ
Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort has heard it from fans for the departure of Ojulari, a second-round pick in 2023. As if it’s Ossenfort’s fault that Ojulari blew out his knee early in training camp in 2024, had more surgery the following June, and didn’t come off PUP until Nov. 15 last season. He played only eight games. That’s essentially two complete summers without getting on the field.
The emergence of Eku Leota cost Ojulari his job, although there remain questions about the production to be had from Baron Browning.
As for the choice to release Ojulari, LaFleur said, “Just made a decision based on what we felt was best, and I feel for BJ. If you guys saw the work that he put in behind the scenes to try to get back to the level that he knows he's capable of, you'd root for him too and his journey and his story is not over.
“But that was a rough injury that he went through. And in my six months here, all I saw was a guy that had his shoulders up and his head held high and he just attacked it. And so Eku won the competition, but it doesn't mean his story is over.”
Cornerbacks
Sean Murphy-Bunting, who missed all of 2025 because of an offseason injury, and Star Thomas V, who also was out the entire year after suffering a torn ACL in training camp, were both cut. Thomas had started 15 games in 2024 prior to the injury, but he will now get more time to recover after he was signed to the practice squad.
Kei’Trel Clark, a sixth-round pick in 2023, survived again.
“It was what our building felt was the best decision for that four spot if you will,” LaFleur said. “So again, a lot of other guys have been through a lot of different stuff with Star, SMB, they've battled through some stuff. So you wish them obviously all the best.”
Wydett Williams Jr.
He is the lone undrafted rookie to make the roster, and his name had been bandied about in recent weeks about potentially returning to college football in the midst of the ongoing fiasco.
LaFleur joked, “We didn't want him to go back to college ball, man. So, when I saw him yesterday, I said, "One, you earned it, and two, I guess there's no Saturdays for you anymore."
He then added, “I think you guys saw it in those preseason games. I think his arrow and his progression just continued to go up. And like I just said, he earned this spot. Keeping a fifth safety doesn't always happen, just like keeping a seventh receiver doesn't always happen.
“But now it's continue to move the needle forward or continue to improve. Attack it like you're going to be playing on Sundays.”
LaFleur then addressed the reality that just because a player is on the first 53-man roster, there’s no guarantee it will last.
He said, “Like I tell all these guys and we'll have a meeting about it. Just because you made it, a lot of things change. You’re always trying to improve the roster at every position and at the same time, there's no redshirt years. Like there is absolutely no red-shirt years, unless you get put on season-ending IR, but that's not really a red-shirt year that anyone wants. So, he understands that, but we'll keep pounding that away to the young guys.”
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Arizona Cardinals made tough decisions to get to 53-man roster
