Takeaways from Cardinals’ final round of OTAs

TEMPE — The final stretch of voluntary organized team activities wraps up this week for the Arizona Cardinals.

After Thursday, things crank up a notch with next week’s mandatory minicamp signaling the final box to check from a team standpoint before training camp begins in late July.

Before turning fully to Monday’s minicamp, some final thoughts from OTAs:

Slow rolling the rookies

There’s little doubt running back Jeremiyah Love and Carson Beck will find themselves in the starting lineup at some point in 2026.

The OTAs optics, however, didn’t necessarily paint that picture. During the open portion of team periods, neither worked with the first team.

Love got some run with the second team, with Tyler Allgeir getting first-team looks. Beck, meanwhile, worked solely with the third team behind both Gardner Minshew II and Kedon Slovis.

 

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Even a guy like second-rounder and offensive lineman Chase Bistonis, who is expected to compete for the starting right guard spot, saw more reps with the third team.

Concerned? Don’t be. Slow rolling the rookies during voluntary work is a good way to set a foundation without overloading the youngsters. They’re also getting some reps in with starters and others during individual drills.

 

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They’ll eventually make their way up the depth chart before the season gets underway.

Early starting projections

There’s not a lot of team periods done during the open portion of OTAs.

That being said, there have been some glimpses of a starting offense, give or take a couple players.

Along the offensive line, Paris Johnson Jr., Isaac Seumalo, Hjalte Froholdt, Isaiah Adams and Elijah Wilkinson have gotten the most run as a group this OTAs.

That lineup is far from surprising, especially with Bisontis working his way through the playbook and no clear answer at right tackle outside of Wilkinson.

At running back, free-agent addition Tyler Allgeier has led the backfield, with pass catchers Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson, Kendrick Bourne, Trey McBride and Elijah Higgins getting first-team reps.

Minshew continues to command the starting offense while Jacoby Brissett remains away from the team amid an ask for a raise.

 

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Returns and absences

Speaking of Johnson, he was back on the field this week after missing Round 2 of OTAs.

He wasn’t the only one back on the field, though.

Cornerback Starling Thomas V was back working with his teammates after getting time in with trainers the previous two weeks.

Thomas, who tore his ACL during last year’s training camp, was in the mix to start before going down.

Getting him back in the fold would provide Arizona with another option in the secondary alongside Will Johnson and Denzel Burke.

Defensive lineman Roy Lopez was also back working this week.

From an absence standpoint, pass rusher Josh Sweat and Brissett were again nowhere to be found on the Tempe practice fields.

Missing voluntary work isn’t anything new for Sweat. He wasn’t present for last year’s OTAs.

And with the Cardinals reportedly not trading the pass rusher, his attendance at minicamp seems likely.

Brissett, however, is a different story. Just how dug in is he for a new deal? And with him already looking for more money, will he risk potential fines by not showing up?

Ask me and I think both will be on the field come Monday.

They weren’t the only notable absences, though. Cornerback Max Melton was not on the field during the open portion of work.

He’ll be among the names to watch next week.

Those taking in OTAs from the sideline or getting time in with trainers included Tip Reiman, Walter Nolen III, James Conner, Trey Benson and Garrett Williams. All are working their way back from respective season-ending injuries.

An experiment after all?

Arizona’s special-teams usage of Love got a lot of run during the first week of OTAs. Since then, though, he’s been working with the offense the past two weeks.

There’s still a world where he could be utilized as a return man, but that’s a conversation for another day.

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