Top Position Battles to Watch as Cardinals Begin Preseason

The Arizona Cardinals are about to commence preseason play - here's what to watch for.

Arizona Cardinals quarterbacks Clayton Tune (15) and Kyler Murray (background) during minicamp at Dignity Health Training Center on June 11, 2024. / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

The preseason is prime time to evaluate fringe players on a team's roster and solidify what, if any, future role they will play.

In the Arizona Cardinals' three preseason games, make sure to keep a close eye on these three position battles:

Left Guard

Arizona Cardinals offensive linemen Evan Brown (62) and Hjalte Froholdt (72) during organized team activities in Tempe on May 20, 2024. / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Since the acquisition of RT Jonah Williams four out of five spots on the Cardinals' offensive line seem to be locked up.

The major question remaining is who will earn the starting spot at LG - and the team currently has several players on the roster gunning for the position.

The Cardinals released a preliminary depth chart showing former Seattle Seahawks OL Evan Brown as the leader in the race for left guard.

Of course, this makes a great deal of sense as he is the player with the most starting experience in the NFL after starting 15 games for Seattle in 2023.

However, 96% of those snaps in Seattle were at center and were not without some concerning questions about his quality of play. Brown committed 7 penalties last season and allowed 3 sacks with an overall PFF grade of 55.5.

Those questions about Brown might leave the door open for some of the players lower on the depth chart to make a legitimate case for themselves this preseason.

Highest amongst these players are rookie Isaiah Adams out of Illinois and Trystan Colon who played a not insignificant number of snaps at left guard last season.

Colon appeared in 11 games in 2023 for the Cardinals and allowed only 2 sacks and committed 1 penalty appearing serviceable in his time on the field.

The biggest case for him is that the coaching staff has seen his performance in real NFL games, which goes a very long way.

Adams is an untested rookie but a third round pick from the 2024 draft who has college experience at several positions including guard. The preseason will be his greatest chance to prove himself against two players with real starting experience in the league.

Running Back

Arizona Cardinals running back back Trey Benson (33) runs with the fall at training camp on Aug. 3, 2024 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale. / Owen Ziliak/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

There is clearly no battle here for RB1 as James Conner is healthy and coming off the first 1,000+ yard season of his career.

The real question for this room that also includes Trey Benson, Emari Demercado, DeeJay Dallas, and Michael Carter is who will play directly behind Conner and how many running backs can the Cardinals realistically retain on their active roster.

As a third-round pick from the most recent draft Trey Benson will absolutely make the team. He provides an open lane speed unmatched by any other player in the room and youthfulness that is particularly prized with running backs.

But with the other players on the roster who have starting NFL experience it is not completely cut and dry that Benson will take the majority of RB2 snaps.

In 2023 Demercado carried the ball 58 times for 284 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns while adding another 119 yards through the air.

However, the biggest argument for keeping Demercado on the squad is his ability to play pass protection which could be a massive benefit for the team on passing downs where Conner can be allowed to get a bit of rest on the sidelines.

DeeJay Dallas was a free agency acquisition who was most recently with the Seattle Seahawks. He has spent four years in the league and has only put together 143 offensive snaps in that time, but he is a well-respected special teamer which might very well solidify his spot on the final roster.

Michael Carter appeared in 6 games for the Cardinals last season and included some memorable moments including important chunk plays against Philadelphia.

However, Carter never hit the end zone and there are legitimate questions about where he fits in this room with so much talent. Although he might have one of the best personalities on the squad and his love for ball is infectious, Carter might be on the outside looking in.

Quarterback

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Desmond Ridder (19) throws the ball during training camp at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on July 28, 2024. / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

The position battle potentially most important to the success of the Arizona Cardinals in 2024 is backup quarterback.

While all fans hope to see an electric and fully healthy season from franchise quarterback Kyler Murray, the possibility always exists that he might miss time due to either small injuries or, heaven forbid, another major one like the ACL tear that took him off the field for parts of two seasons.

The lineup behind Murray is, frankly, concerning. Currently, the depth chart lists former Atlanta Falcon Desmond Ridder as QB2 and second year Cardinal Clayton Tune as QB3.

Ridder was acquired through a rare player-for-player trade including WR Rondale Moore in the offseason. He started all but four games for the Falcons in 2023 and his performance was anything but comforting.

Ridder only managed 2,836 yards and 12 touchdowns/12 interceptions at the head of a very underwhelming Falcons season.

Still, Ridder's amount of NFL starts (17) is significantly better than the one disastrous start from Tune, a game against the Cleveland Browns that most Cardinals fans would prefer to forget.

It is difficult to find a silver lining in Tune's performance in that Week 9 game that saw him throw for 62 yards and 2 interceptions.

He came out of that game with a 34.2 PFF grade and a fan reputation that will be hard to recover from.

With what is on the line if Murray does go down for any significant amount of time, watching how these backup quarterbacks perform will be the most interesting battle of the offseason.

Hopefully, one of them can show that they have the capabilities to lead a team in the short-term or else the Cardinals should explore all available options to ensure that the first nine weeks of the 2023 season are never repeated.