3 questions hovering over Cardinals’ training camp
This year’s training camp for the Arizona Cardinals begins July 22 nd . That is about a week earlier than the other clubs in the league. This year, the Cardinals will play in the Hall of Fame Game to be played on Thursday, August 6, in Canton, Ohio. Kickoff is 8:00 p.m. (Eastern). The game will become one of the highlights of the weekend that will see former Cardinals’ receiver Larry Fitzgerald inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. RELATED: CAN THE CARDINALS GET YOU TO ‘BUY IN’ Playing in the annual exhibition contest in Canton requires both Arizona and the Carolina Panthers , the Cardinals’ opponent, to begin their training camp early. The squad is currently 90 players under contract, vying for the 53 jobs on the Week 1 roster. Several interesting battles will need to be addressed in this year’s camp. Obviously, this is front and center. In last year’s camp, it was cut and dry. Kyler Murray was healthy and the starter. Jacoby Brissett was signed as the starter, so the only question was who would become QB3. But this year, Brissett was named the starter, and then head coach Mike LaFleur appears to have retracted that assertion. He didn’t exactly say that Brissett was no longer the starter, but he leaned that way after the quarterback did not attend or participate in any of the offseason OTAs and minicamps. With the installation of a new offensive scheme, on-field reps and tutelage are critical to understand what happens next. This year’s signed backup, Gardner Minshew , looked good during the offseason sessions and has made some noise that he is working hard to claim the starting role. The opportunity opened up, and Minshew is trying to grab it if Brissett doesn’t want it or is willing to work for it. At the same time, rookie Carson Beck has the same angle. Show up for all practice sessions and every meeting, and stay in the weight room. Then tell the media that his goal is to start sooner rather than later. If Coach LaFleur has indeed retracted and opened up the starting role to competition, then Beck has raised his hand and wants it. How will this shake out? The Cardinals lost Jalen Thompson from last year’s group. He was a good player, and was strange that Ossenfort did not retain him. Of course, Budda Baker ’s house is full of Pro Bowl hardware. The question remains, who is going to replace Thompson, and who will fill the linebacker role in DC Nick Rallis’ 4-2-5 scheme? It was assumed that the Cardinals would draft a young buck for the safety room, but that came and went. Afterwards, Ossenfort did sign S Wydett Williams, Jr. from Ole Miss. The defensive back room is slapping full. Currently, there are 11 cornerbacks and seven safeties. During free agency, Ossenfort inked hard-hitting Andrew Wingard from the Philadelphia Eagles . He was signed to fill Thompson’s spot, but currently, on the unofficial depth chart, he is listed as the backup to Dadrion Taylor-Demerson instead. Wingard has played for seven years, while Taylor-Demerson is going into his third. For Wingard (6’-0”, 200 pounds), he has been in 102 games with 44 starts, 349 total tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 6 interceptions, 6 QB hits, 2 sacks, 22 batted passes, two fumble recoveries, 4 knockdowns, 9 hurries, 15 pressures, and 37 missed tackles. In pass coverage, Wingard has defended 63 targets with 33 completions, 6 picks, and a 52.4% completion percentage. Taylor-Demerson was selected by Arizona in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL draft. His career numbers are 29 games played with six starts, 96 total tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, 0 QB hits, 0 sacks, 11 batted passes, and 7 missed tackles. In pass coverage, Wingard has defended 27 targets with 17 completions, 2 picks, and a 66.0% completion percentage. When the defense goes into the 4-2-5, Rallis will often sit a linebacker and insert a safety in that position instead in order to get better pass coverage. But that player must be a really good tackler. That guy is Wingard. [... truncated ...]
