Back in black: Cardinals get 1st glimpse of 4-receiver arsenal, new helmet

GLENDALE — After an offseason of waiting, head coach Kliff Kingsbury got to see what the Arizona Cardinals hope they’ll be working with on offense starting in Week 7.

For the first time in training camp, quarterback Kyler Murray lined up with not only Hollywood Brown at receiver but DeAndre Hopkins, Rondale Moore and A.J. Green joining him.

And as expected, the head coach liked what he saw from the grouping.

“Kyler looked sharp and Hollywood looked fast,” Kingsbury said Monday. “That’s what we’re looking for and we just got to keep building that rapport. We’re down some of those tight ends so did some 10-personnel and lined up all four of those wideouts together. It looked like we could have some fun with that.

“We’ve been champing at the bit to get those guys out there together and they had some nice plays together,” the head coach added. “I think it’ll just grow the more Marquise gets comfortable in our system and they get on the same page over the next three weeks. It should be a good thing for our offense.”

You couldn’t have picked a better time for the signal caller and his quartet of wide receivers to take the practice field together, with Arizona donning its new black helmets for the first time all offseason.

Black on black for K1. pic.twitter.com/kQz3UKcEjG

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) August 15, 2022

And while Cardinals fans couldn’t catch a glimpse of the helmets in person on Monday, they can see the new look live and in action Sunday night when the Ravens come to town.

“They look sharp,” Kingsbury said of the helmet. “Players were really excited about them. … It’s a good look.

“I love them,” rookie running back Keaontay Ingram added. “It’s something different. I love the all-black, that savage look. That’s my type of model so I love it.”

Greg Dortch day-to-day with knee contusion

For the first time in a long time, the talk of training camp did not center around wide receiver Greg Dortch.

After getting a good amount of run in the team’s preseason-opening win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Friday night, the wideout and a handful of his teammates were noticeably absent from Monday’s practice.

Dortch is considered day-to-day with a knee contusion, though he expects to practice Tuesday.

Tight end Stephen Anderson and wide receiver Andre Baccellia are dealing with ankle issues that could sideline them for up to two weeks, Kingsbury said.

Dortch and Anderson both started in the team’s first preseason game, while Baccellia hauled in the lone receiving touchdown of the night for Arizona in the first quarter. Dortch chipped in four catches (eight targets) for 53 yards. He also added 89 yards on five punt returns.

As for fellow pass catcher Antoine Wesley, the wide receiver is still working on returning from a groin/hip injury that has kept him out since the beginning of August.

“They’re saying 1-2 weeks and it’s still kind of a touch-and-go type situation once he gets back just to see how he holds up,” Kingsbury said of Wesley.

In addition, tight end Zach Ertz (calf), outside linebacker Markus Golden (toe) and center Rodney Hudson (knee) were not among their teammates during the open portion of practice on Monday.

On a positive note, rookie tight end Trey McBride was an active participant after missing the team’s first preseason action.

EXTRA POINT

Kingsbury on cutting veteran DL Kingsley Keke on Sunday: “He got sick unfortunately with COVID-19. We had some young guys that we thought stepped up and we wanted to give him an opportunity somewhere else.”

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