Predicting the Arizona Cardinals’ 53-man roster

The Arizona Cardinals opened training camp Friday with a run test at University of Phoenix in Glendale and begin practice on Saturday.

While several storylines will emerge from camp, the one everyone will be watching is the battle for the 53-man roster.

Key dates to watch are Sept. 2, when clubs must reduce rosters to a maximum of 53 players on the active/inactive list prior to 1 p.m. There’s also the day after on Sept. 3 when the claiming period for players placed on waivers at the final roster reduction expires at 9 a.m. and one hour later, teams may form their practice squad of ten players.

Here’s the first version of my 53-man roster projection. I’ll update the roster as moves are made throughout camp, including after every preseason game.

OFFENSE (25)

QUARTERBACKS (3)

Carson Palmer, Drew Stanton, Blaine Gabbert.

RUNNING BACKS (4)

David Johnson, Chris Johnson, Kerwynn Williams, T.J. Logan.

WIDE RECEIVERS (6)

Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown, Jaron Brown, J.J. Nelson, Chad Williams, Aaron Dobson.

TIGHT ENDS (3)

Jermaine Gresham, Troy Niklas, Ifeanyi Momah.

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (9)

D.J. Humphries, Mike Iupati, A.Q. Shipley, Evan Boehm, Jared Veldheer, Cole Toner, Dorian Johnson, Will Holden, John Wetzel.

DEFENSE (25)

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (7)

Frostee Rucker, Corey Peters, Josh Mauro, Rodney Gunter, Robert Nkemdiche, Olsen Pierre, Xavier Williams.

OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS (4)

Chandler Jones, Markus Golden, Alani Fua, Jarvis Jones.

INSIDE LINEBACKERS (5)

Karlos Dansby, Deone Bucannon, Haason Reddick, Gabe Martin, Scooby Wright.

CORNERBACKS (5)

Patrick Peterson, Justin Bethel, Brandon Williams, Eli Bouka, Jumal Rolle.

SAFETIES (4)

Tyrann Mathieu, Antoine Bethea, Budda Baker, Rudy Ford.

SPECIALISTS (3)

LS Aaron Brewer, P Richie Leone, K Phil Dawson.

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