Arizona Cardinals wrap up training camp in Flagstaff

The Arizona Cardinals have spent a lot of time in Flagstaff since reporting to training camp at Northern Arizona University July 24.

And now that time has come to an end. The Cardinals held their 20th and final practice at NAU Tuesday morning before heading back to the Valley and ultimately Nashville to take on the Tennessee Titans in their fourth preseason game Thursday night.

“Another one in the books, it was a good camp,” head coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “Seems like there was a lot going on this year, between the Hall of Fame and the Kansas City trip and then coming back and forth here.

“We got a lot of work done here and now it’s back down to the Valley.”

The scenery may be changing for the Cardinals, but the process of evaluation will continue for Whisenhunt and his staff with two preseason games remaining.

“It was a good camp, but now we’ve got to take that next step, we’ve got to go on the road and play well against Tennessee and get prepared for the season,” Whisenhunt said. “We made a couple of strides last week, we need to do that this week. We need to find out about a lot of our young guys.

“We’re going to play some guys Thursday night, get them some opportunities and try to get the best 53 out of this group.”

After 20 practices, the team has become accustomed to the conditions of Flagstaff, but Whisenhunt won’t miss everything about the Cardinals’ training home.

“I’m not going to miss the thunderstorms that we get every afternoon and having to worry about going inside,” he said. “This is a good place for camp, we had a good camp, our guys worked hard.

“You’re going to miss some things, you’re not going to miss some things. I’m not going to miss the beds we’re sleeping in and I’m not going to miss living in a dorm. It’ll be good to get home.”

Arizona Sports’ Craig Grialou contributed to this report

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