What We Learned About Cardinals in Preseason

The Arizona Cardinals have just wrapped up preseason play - here's what we learned about the team.

Aug 25, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos head coach Jonathan Gannon during the third quarter against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports / Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

ARIZONA -- The dust has now settled on the Arizona Cardinals' preseason schedule, and the next time Jonathan Gannon's squad takes the field, the regular season will be underway in Buffalo.

Three games have come and gone for Gannon and his staff to evaluate their roster (which must be trimmed to 53 by Tuesday afternoon) - and with starters sitting through its entirity, the Cardinals got a strong look at a lot of their depth pieces.

That's where we'll start in our takeaways piece from preseason play:

What We Learned From Cardinals in Preseason Play

Aug 25, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Members of the Arizona Cardinals offensive huddle in the first quarter against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports / Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Cardinals Are Awfully Confident in Their Starters - Look, you'll hear every single team in the league repeat the phrase "reps are gold" until they're blue in the face - so why did the Cardinals opt to not play any of their starters through the three-game stretch?

Simply put, they really liked what their guys accomplished through camp and joint practices with the Colts.

Through some variation, most teams will see their starters play at least some of the time in preseason just to shake the rust off while minimizing injury risk. The Cardinals decided to play it safe and not risk injury during preseason action while also keeping their identity/plans as under-wraps as possible ahead of their Week 1 visit to Buffalo.

Gannon must have really liked what he saw during practice to not play his guys - we'll see if that decision was correct two weeks from now.

Backup Quarterbacks Beware - With Kyler Murray not playing a single down in preseason, it was a battle between Clayton Tune and Desmond Ridder to secure the seat behind him.

After three games, it's safe to say neither option gave a great boost of confidence if Murray goes down.

While Tune out-played Ridder throughout camp and preseason, the Cardinals simply can't be satisfied with how the room looks beyond Murray and again may hit the market to acquire a new presence this week.

Tune is QB2 as of now - we'll see if that's the case moving forward.

Tough Decisions Await in RB Room - While there's problems in the quarterback room, Arizona has "good" problems deeper in the depths of the running back room, where a handful of guys flashed what they could do behind obvious starter James Conner.

Trey Benson seemingly found his groove in his second preseason game while Michael Carter continued to display his pure running skills. Emari Demercado is beloved by the coaching staff thanks to his versatility and DeeJay Dallas proved to be the solid special teams ace he was in Seattle.

Will the Cardinals keep five running backs? It feels unlikely, and if that's the case, there's some long conversations to be had about who will be the odd man out in the desert.

Xavier Weaver Might've Earned a Roster Spot - With most starters not playing, the Cardinals hoped for one player to emerge as a strong option behind their top four (well, now three for the upcoming few weeks after Zay Jones' suspension).

Undrafted receiver Xavier Weaver did just that.

Weaver not only handled special teams duties well, but he also supplemented some big plays on a Cardinals receiving corps that lacked firepower without their top guys in the mix.

Given the aforementioned quarterback play, Weaver excelled in nearly every opportunity.

If there's one "sneaky" player who earned a final 53 spot, it's him.

OL Depth is Worrisome - The jury is still out on Arizona's starting offensive line, and though we didn't watch them play the last three weeks, there's good reason to believe they'll improve from last season.

We did, however, watch the backups - and there was a lot less praise after their body of work concluded.

It felt like every other snap, there was an opposing player in the backfield to stop a rushing play or force an early pass from the quarterback.

The problem? It wasn't just one or two players who really stood out for the wrong reasons. It's fitting that the offensive line works as a unit, because all five spots saw numerous forgettable reps.

Potential Pass Rusher Emerges - With losses to BJ Ojulari (season) and Darius Robinson (reportedly only a few weeks, nothing official), the Cardinals will be without at least two of their highest-ceiling players to begin the 2024 season.

After Zaven Collins and Dennis Gardeck (who themselves have something to prove to outsiders in 2024) massive question marks presented themselves at the beginning of preseason play.

Now, it sure looks like Xavier Thomas can help surpass Arizona's team sack total of 33 last year.

Thomas found himself in the backfield often against all three matchups, either gathering sacks or forcing pressure elsewhere.

Can he do it against regular season competition? That will be the true barometer, though players can't control who they align against, and thus far Thomas has earned a shot to prove himself when it matters.

CB Room Flashed Improvement; Job isn't Settled - All of Arizona's depth pieces at corner were mixed heavily through the last three weeks, and the Cardinals saw plays made by nearly everybody.

It feels like the top guys are settled with Sean Murphy-Bunting, Garrett Williams and Starling Thomas V as the starters. Behind them, it's still very much up for grabs like it was walking into training camp.

At least the Cardinals know each player is capable of doing the job, though it's their duty to figure out who will be most consistent when their number is called against the league's best wideouts on a weekly basis.

Safety Depth is in Good Hands - Behind Jalen Thompson and Budda Baker, the Cardinals saw another tandem of defensive backs make plays throughout preseason action.

Rookie Dadrion Taylor-Demerson and Darren Hall (who was signed to a Future's deal with the team this offseason) both took off when the lights came on.

Taylor-Demerson's speed and range was flexed on numerous occasions while Hall (who also played in a slot/box role) led or tied the Cardinals in tackles all three weeks.

Both give the Cardinals strong options if they need a third safety or if either starter goes down - it was nice to see both shine each week on that side of the ball.