Cardinals Enter Most Important Phase of Training Camp

The Arizona Cardinals put the pads on today.

Arizona Cardinals running back Trey Benson (33) during training camp at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on July 25, 2024. / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals have practiced for nearly a week now at State Farm Stadium, though the team looks to take the next step when pads come on for the first time Monday.

Anybody can look good with just a helmet on during the first dog days of training camp, though the physicality and extra layer of play pads provide will begin to separate players through various stages of the roster.

That also gives head coach Jonathan Gannon the opportunity to view the new kickoff rule in a different light:

"I think I'm looking forward to seeing it with pads on," Gannon said when asked about the rule change.

"I know what we're doing on the coverage team and on the return teams but there's always a different element when you put on pads. So I'm sure we'll have to make some adjustments and adaptations."

Sure, players have been able to run plays against each other. The Cardinals have been able to be physical with each other - though the addition of pads opens the door for a better look of how players might look on Sundays:

"It's football to me - it just brings in a different element of something that's closer to the actual game," Gannon said when asked about evaluating players with the pads coming on this week.

"So when you want to talk about evaluation, true evaluation in my opinion comes in leading up to week one would be preseason games because that's versus a different opponent and it's live, and then the days that we're in pads. We evaluate everything but the most true evaluation I think that you can get is what's closest to what it's going to look like Sunday in Buffalo, so that's how we try to do it."

Gannon isn't the only prominent figure ready to see the next phase of camp begin, as GM Monti Ossenfort will be another watchful eye as the Cardinals will eventually need to trim their roster down to 53 players ahead of the regular season.

“I like to bounce around. I get a better feel moving around the field and seeing up close. There are things that sometimes the film can’t capture. I like to hear the coaching points and what the coaches are teaching and things that I may not be versed on," Ossenfort told reporters over the weekend.

The next - and most important - phase of Arizona's roster evaluation is set to begin.