Keaontay Ingram Wins Cardinals RB2 Job

The Arizona Cardinals are reportedly cutting Corey Clement, handing the keys to Keaontay Ingram to be the backup to James Conner.

The Arizona Cardinals have seen a handful of position battles develop over the course of training camp and preseason. Some, such center and left guard, were settled fairly early in the process. 

Positions such as quarterback (until Kyler Murray returns) are still unsettled, and others at corner, inside linebacker and edge haven't been made official but frontrunners are established for all three spots.

The Cardinals will again look to James Conner to tout the rock in 2023, yet the battle to earn second-string status behind him never saw either Corey Clement or Keaontay Ingram emerge - until now. 

With NFL rosters needing to be trimmed to 53 players by 4:00 PM EST today, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero is reporting the Cardinals are releasing Clement. He will become a free agent. 

Veteran RB Corey Clement has been informed that he will be released by the #Cardinals, per source. He is not subject to waivers and will become a free agent after 4 p.m. ET today.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 29, 2023

Clement paced all running backs in preseason snap counts with 77, over double Ingram's 34. Clement graded better than Ingram in nearly every Pro Football Focus category:

Stats via Pro Football Focus

Yet Ingram is the one sticking around in the desert as Arizona's RB2, likely thanks to his advantage has a third-down back over Clement. 

The second-year Ingram displayed some nice things in the preseason:

absolutely not to be denied 😤@keaontay_ingram x #BirdGang pic.twitter.com/HGa40GO6wA

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) August 20, 2023

In Arizona's eyes, it's important for them to have a strong backup to Conner, who has produced at a satisfactory level but has dealt with injuries for most of his career. The team initially signed Marlon Mack to fill the RB2 role, though he tore his Achilles just a few days after landing in the desert.

Cardinals team reporter Darren Urban believes more help is coming via the waiver wire.

Clement had a good preseason, but Keaontay Ingram did too and I am guessing an RB is incoming from the waiver wire. https://t.co/vQvRPVi66e

— Darren Urban (@Cardschatter) August 29, 2023

The Cardinals are just under two weeks away from their season opener in Washington. 

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