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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
5 battles to watch during Arizona Cardinals training camp
The Arizona Cardinals begin training camp in an enviable position. There is no drama surrounding who will start at quarterback or on the offensive line, the sport's two most important positions. Their skill positions are mostly set, too. Even on defense, the Cardinals have a handful of entrenched starters. The team began camp at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on July 24. The Cardinals open the season on Sept. 7 in New Orleans for Week 1. Still, as practices heat up and the pads go on, there will be some crucial depth chart battles to watch. Here are the top five: Three cornerbacks for two spots With Sean Murphy-Bunting out for the season due to a knee injury, the Cardinals are down to three contenders for two starting spots at outside corner. Will Johnson, the second-round rookie, was considered the second-best cornerback in the draft (behind No. 2 pick Travis Hunter) before concerns over the long-term health of his knee caused him to slide. He's healthy to start training camp, though, and is the most talented option at the position, but also the least experienced. Max Melton, a 2024 second-round pick, showed some encouraging flashes last season and improved as the year went on. By the second half of the year, he was an important part of the Cardinals' rotation at the position and helped shut down some top corners. Still, he played just 52% of snaps and never became entrenched as a starter. The final option is Starling Thomas V, a former undrafted free agent whom the Cardinals claimed off waivers with minimal expectations ahead of the 2023 season. After a difficult first year in Arizona, he emerged last season and became the Cardinals' top-rated outside corner, per Pro Football Focus. Entering camp, there's no telling what the hierarchy is among these three. Arizona could even continue with a rotation, as it did for much of last season. But most teams prefer to stick with two starters on the outside, so the Cardinals will be hoping two of these players can emerge to complement Garrett Williams, their standout nickel corner. Second edge rusher The Cardinals handed Josh Sweat a four-year, $76.4 million deal to be the centerpiece of their edge rushing group. The rest of that position, though, appears wide open as camp begins. As with the rest of the defensive line, edge rusher is a position that will see heavy rotation. At least four players will play significant snaps there every Sunday. But it would provide a boost to the Cardinals' pass rush if a second player emerges alongside Sweat. The primary contenders are B.J. Ojulari, Zaven Collins and Baron Browning, although Ojulari will miss the start of camp as he continues to recover from a torn ACL suffered in July 2024. And don't forget about rookie Jordan Burch, who was drafted in the third round after recording 8.5 sacks in 10 games at Oregon last year. Arizona Cardinals: How they view themselves amid raised expectations How will the interior defensive line sort out? A year ago, the Cardinals spent half their season in desperate search of anybody who could provide useful snaps at the defensive line. Now, they suddenly have more talent than available spots. There's no shortage of storylines to watch with this group. Darius Robinson, the 27th overall pick in 2024, will be looking to entrench himself behind veterans Calais Campbell and Dalvin Tomlinson. Walter Nolen, the 16th overall pick this spring, will be aiming to carve out a role when he returns from a calf injury that is expected to sideline him for most of camp. Then there are the depth pieces. L.J. Collier and Dante Stills performed admirably last season, but Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols are veterans who would carry significant cap hits if cut. Can Collier and Stills force the Cardinals' hand? Interior offensive line depth The second-string offensive line might not be a headline-grabbing topic, but it's an important one. Last year, the Cardinals were able to weather significant injuries up front because of players like Kelvin Beachum, Trystan Colon and Isaiah Adams. This time around, the situation is murkier. Beachum is a reliable swing tackle, but the Cardinals do not have a single proven backup on the interior. A single injury to a starting guard or center would make for an unnerving situation. Between Royce Newman, Jake Curhan, Jon Gaines, Nick Leverett and sixth-round rookie Hayden Conner, someone has to win those two (or three) available jobs on the 53-man roster. Conner, a stellar pass protector in college at Texas, is the most exciting option. His development, in particular, will be worth watching during camp. Who starts at middle linebacker? The Cardinals do not have a clear replacement for Kyzir White, the signal-calling middle linebacker who played nearly every snap when healthy over the past two seasons. The question now is whether that role in the middle of the defense will be filled by Mack Wilson, Akeem Davis-Gaither or even fourth-round pick Cody Simon. Wilson excelled last year in a more versatile role, but would have different responsibilities at middle linebacker. Davis-Gaither is a more traditional option, but he's never played over 50% of defensive snaps in a season. And Simon is, of course, a rookie. His position on the depth chart during training camp will be a useful indicator of how close he is to earning significant snaps. There's also a secondary inside linebacker job — the one occupied by Wilson last season — up for grabs in most packages. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Depth chart battles to watch during Arizona Cardinals training camp
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Arizona Cardinals Year 2 player outlook: CB Max Melton
The Arizona Cardinals drafted 12 players in 2024. Some of them had contributions as rookies. Some will have greater roles in 2025. Others will have to battle for the roster. They selected cornerback Max Melton in the second round. Advertisement Entering Year 2 in the NFL, let's have a look at his 2025 outlook. CB Max Melton's 2024 season Melton played a lot but was not a starter. He played in all 17 games but was basically the Cardinals' fourth cornerback, using him in a three-man rotation on the boundary with Sean Murphy-Bunting and Star Thomas. He started three times. He had 51 total tackles, five pass breakups and a forced fumble in 565 defensive snaps. Max Melton's Year 2 outlook in 2025 Murphy-Bunting injured his knee in the offseason and is out for the year, so it would seem that Melton would slide into a starting role, playing opposite Thomas with Garrett Williams in the slot. But the Cardinals added Will Johnson in the second round of this year's draft, a player with elite talent, so Melton might be in the same boat last year. Advertisement At minimum, he will be in the rotation as the third boundary corner, playing as much as he did last season. At best, he will move into a full-time starting role, being the player on the field the most of the trio of him, Johnson and Thomas. 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. This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: What to expect from Cardinals DL Darius Robinson in Year 2
Reuters
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Cardinals put CB Sean Murphy-Bunting on non-football injury list
May 22 - The Arizona Cardinals placed cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting on the reserve/non-football injury list on Thursday, a move that will apparently end his 2025 season. Neither the Cardinals nor Murphy-Bunting's representatives have detailed what occurred. A team can place players on the NFI list for injuries unrelated to football or injuries that didn't occur during NFL games and practices. Murphy-Bunting started 15 of 15 games played for the Cardinals last season and matched his career high of three interceptions. He had 52 tackles and two forced fumbles. Murphy-Bunting, who turns 28 next month, has played 82 games (65 starts) over six seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2019-22), Tennessee Titans (2023) and Cardinals. He has 11 interceptions, returning one for a touchdown in 2019, along with 297 tackles, 34 passes defensed and eight forced fumbles. He was a second-round pick by Tampa Bay in the 2019 draft. Arizona selected promising cornerback Will Johnson of Michigan in the second round of the 2025 draft. Johnson was considered a possible Top 10 pick prior to the 2024 season but slid down draft boards due to a knee issue. --Field Level Media
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cardinals place CB Sean Murphy-Bunting on the season-ending injury list
FILE - Arizona Cardinals cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting (23) moves across the field during the first half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Dec. 1, 2024 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs, file) TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting was placed on the non-football injury list Thursday and will miss the entire 2025 season for the Cardinals. The move to put Murphy-Bunting on the reserve list where he will not count against the 90-man roster was released on the NFL's daily transactions report. The Cardinals had not made any announcement about the move and there is no immediate word on what the injury is. Advertisement Non-football injuries are any injury that happens away from an NFL facility, including working out to get ready for the season. An NFI designation can lead to players forfeiting their salaries. Murphy-Bunting was supposed to be guaranteed a $7.7 million base salary this season as part of the three-year, $22.5 million deal he signed last offseason but that is now in jeopardy. Murphy-Bunting started 15 games in his first season in Arizona and had three interceptions and five passes defensed. He was in the mix to be a starter again in 2025. The Cardinals drafted Will Johnson in the second round with 2024 second-rounder Max Melton also in the mix at outside cornerback. The 27-year-old Murphy-Bunting was originally drafted by Tampa Bay in the second round in 2019 and helped the Buccaneers win the Super Bowl in his second season when he had three interceptions in four playoff games. Advertisement He spent the 2023 season with Tennessee before joining Arizona. Murphy-Bunting has 11 interceptions and 34 passes defensed in 82 regular-season games with three more interceptions and a fumble recovery in six playoff games. ___ AP NFL:
Associated Press
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Cardinals place CB Sean Murphy-Bunting on the season-ending injury list
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting was placed on the non-football injury list Thursday and will miss the entire 2025 season for the Cardinals. The move to put Murphy-Bunting on the reserve list where he will not count against the 90-man roster was released on the NFL's daily transactions report. The Cardinals had not made any announcement about the move and there is no immediate word on what the injury is. Non-football injuries are any injury that happens away from an NFL facility, including working out to get ready for the season. An NFI designation can lead to players forfeiting their salaries. Murphy-Bunting was supposed to be guaranteed a $7.7 million base salary this season as part of the three-year, $22.5 million deal he signed last offseason but that is now in jeopardy. Murphy-Bunting started 15 games in his first season in Arizona and had three interceptions and five passes defensed. He was in the mix to be a starter again in 2025. The Cardinals drafted Will Johnson in the second round with 2024 second-rounder Max Melton also in the mix at outside cornerback. The 27-year-old Murphy-Bunting was originally drafted by Tampa Bay in the second round in 2019 and helped the Buccaneers win the Super Bowl in his second season when he had three interceptions in four playoff games. He spent the 2023 season with Tennessee before joining Arizona. Murphy-Bunting has 11 interceptions and 34 passes defensed in 82 regular-season games with three more interceptions and a fumble recovery in six playoff games. ___ AP NFL:
