Arizona Cardinals roster projection: Depth chart after Week 2 of camp

The Arizona Cardinals’ preseason opener is less than a week away. Their annual red-and-white practice is in the rearview mirror. Roles, as Jonathan Gannon likes to say, are being defined.

There’s still plenty of time before decisions have to be made — the final 53-man roster is not due until Aug. 27, after their three preseason games — but the picture is becoming clearer with each passing practice.

There’s a lot to watch for: New players running with the first team, players standing out in practice, where Jonathan Gannon directs his praise. Each tidbit reveals a window into the Cardinals’ thinking.

So, with week two of training camp complete, this is our second 53-man roster projection of the season.

Offense

Quarterback (2)

Starter: Kyler Murray

Backup: Jacoby Brissett

This is one group where there’s virtually nothing to watch for. Murray will be the starter and Brissett will be the backup. Clayton Tune, the third option, hasn’t shown anything to indicate that the Cardinals will keep three quarterbacks.

Running back (4)

Starter: James Conner

Backups: Trey Benson, Michael Carter, DeeJay Dallas

This week, Conner said that he and Trey Benson are “both RB1” — the latest indication that the Cardinals could have a more even backfield split than expected. That’s certainly been the case during 11-on-11 portions of training camp, with the backs seeing roughly equal first-team work. The other piece of intrigue here is the RB3 role. Michael Carter, who spent most of last season on the practice squad, has taken reps ahead of Emari Demercado during training camp. He could be in line to earn Demercado’s roster spot, with Dallas making the team primarily as a kick returner.

Wide receiver (6)

Starters: Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson, Greg Dortch

Backups: Zay Jones, Xavier Weaver, Simi Fehoko

Quez Watkins was placed on injured reserve this week, narrowing the competition for depth spots at wide receiver. With Harrison and Wilson both nursing minor injuries, Weaver and Fehoko have both seen snaps with the first team. Neither has made much impact, but they’ll likely have roster spots as depth pieces, unless the Cardinals opt to keep just five receivers. A sixth-rounder in 2024, Tejhaun Palmer is on the outside looking in.

Tight end (3)

Starter: Trey McBride

Backups: Elijah Higgins, Tip Reiman

The Cardinals had four tight ends on the roster last year, but Travis Vokolek was only active when McBride missed one game with a concussion. Given that this year’s roster is deeper and more talented, they could opt to use that roster spot elsewhere. If not, the competition for the fourth spot will be between Vokolek and Josiah Deguara.

Offensive tackle (4)

Starters: Paris Johnson Jr., Jonah Williams

Backups: Kelvin Beachum, Josh Fryar

When Gannon was asked about 2024 fifth-round pick Christian Jones earlier this week, he briefly touched on Jones before turning the subject to the Cardinals' undrafted rookie tackles, Josh Fryar and Jeremiah Byers. Given that Jones struggled to work his way up the depth chart as a rookie, it wouldn’t be surprising to see one of those players supplant him. Fryar, who played under Cardinals offensive line coach Justin Frye at Ohio State, seems to be the more likely of the two.

Interior offensive line (5)

Starters: Evan Brown, Hjalte Froholdt, Isaiah Adams

Backups: Royce Newman, Hayden Conner

Adams was among the standouts of the second week of camp, an encouraging sign for the least experienced starter along this offensive line. It was a less promising week for Conner, the Cardinals' sixth-round pick. He was drafted as a guard, but the Cardinals were hoping he could show the versatility to play center as well. But in one practice this week, he had three bad snaps, earning a demotion back down to the third-team offense. If the Cardinals don’t feel confident in him as a backup center, they’ll have to keep Jon Gaines on the roster. That would force them to either keep an extra offensive lineman or cut Conner.

Defense

Interior defensive line (7)

Starters: Calais Campbell, Dalvin Tomlinson, Darius Robinson

Backups: Walter Nolen, Justin Jones, Dante Stills, L.J. Collier

Earlier this week, Gannon offered a window into how he views roster decisions. He said repeatedly that he is “not in the business of cutting good football players” and that it’s more important to keep the best players than to worry about positional quotas. That could be good news for Collier, who had some nice moments last year but now finds himself in a stacked position room. Undrafted free agent Elijah Simmons is another player to keep an eye on. He’s earned consistent praise from the coaching staff. Meanwhile, Bilal Nichols has not yet returned from a neck injury suffered in Week 6 last year, so he could be facing an uphill battle to be ready for Week 1.

Edge rusher (5)

Starters: Josh Sweat, Baron Browning

Backups: Zaven Collins, Jordan Burch, Xavier Thomas

B.J. Ojulari, the Cardinals’ second-round pick in 2023, remains sidelined with a torn ACL suffered on Aug. 2, 2024. So while Gannon declined to provide a timetable on his return, Ojulari would have to begin practicing soon to be fully ramped up by Week 1. If he’s not ready, a roster spot could open for Thomas, a 2024 fifth-rounder who struggled as a rookie.

Inside linebacker (4)

Starters: Mack Wilson, Akeem Davis-Gaither

Backups: Cody Simon, Owen Pappoe

The Cardinals have shown a heavy dose of one-linebacker looks in training camp, but it’s still hard to imagine them cutting any of this group. All four have seen some work with the first team offense.

Cornerback (6)

Starters: Max Melton, Will Johnson, Garrett Williams

Backups: Denzel Burke, Kei’Trel Clark, Elijah Jones

The Cardinals' top three cornerbacks are set after Starling Thomas V tore his ACL in practice last week. The picture is murkier further down the roster, but Clark has stood out in recent practices, consistently making big plays for the second-team defense. Both he and Burke have worked ahead of Jones, a 2024 third-rounder whose roster spot could be in jeopardy. At this stage, though, it still seems unlikely that the Cardinals would want to cut ties with a day two draft pick who missed his entire rookie season to injury.

Safety (4)

Starters: Budda Baker, Jalen Thompson

Backup: Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, Joey Blount

Each of the top three safeties is set to see significant playing time in the Cardinals’ complex secondary. If a fourth safety makes the roster, though, it will primarily be as a special teamer. That spot could come down to Blount and seventh-round rookie Kitan Crawford, who are both excellent on special teams.

Specialists

Kicker: Chad Ryland

Punter: Blake Gillikin

Long snapper: Aaron Brewer

There are no competitions for spots as specialists. The Cardinals only have one player on the training camp roster at each of these positions.