Arizona Cardinals’ positional battles to watch as preseason play kicks off

GLENDALE — After nearly two weeks of training camp, it’s onto preseason play for the Arizona Cardinals with a handful of positional battles still up for grabs.

For the training camp standouts, the exhibition slate provides them the opportunity to solidify their role. That is if they play.

For those looking to make one last push, three big chances remain before cutdown day on Aug. 27 and the regular season.

Let’s take a look at some of the battles to keep tabs on as Arizona’s preseason slate kicks off Saturday against the New Orleans Saints.

QB2: Clayton Tune vs. Desmond Ridder

With quarterback Kyler Murray sitting out the entirety of the preseason, the attention falls squarely on the QB2 battle between Tune and Ridder.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon hasn’t given specifics as to who turned in a better camp or how the preseason snaps will be divvied up, but if we’re going off these past two weeks of work, Tune has the edge over Ridder heading into Saturday’s game.

After knocking the rust off early on, Tune has widened the gap over Ridder thanks to his consistency in the latter half of camp. He also didn’t give the ball away at nearly the same rate as Ridder.

Clayton Tune throws it up, Greg Dortch does the rest as Arizona Cardinals training camp wraps up Thursday. #AZCardinals pic.twitter.com/XBMXR2Y2pc

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) August 8, 2024

“I think this preseason is going to be a great opportunity for those guys to get a lot of reps, put themselves on tape, go out and compete and show what they can do,” offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said Wednesday. “They’ve worked really hard in the spring and throughout training camp to be ready for that.

“Certainly, in Year 2, there’s a lot of things that aren’t new (to Tune). He’s coming into a building he’s familiar with, teammates he’s familiar with, a system that he knows. He can focus on the finer points of playing quarterback and I think we’ve seen that throughout the offseason and camp and looking forward for him to put that on display Saturday.”

Final verdict: Tune

CB2: Max Melton vs. Starling Thomas V

Following training camp, two spots look shored up in the CBs room.

At least to start the season, the CB1 honors belong to Sean Murphy-Bunting. As for the nickel, it’s Garrett Williams, though he could see time on the outside in Year 2.

That leaves CB2 to be decided between Max Melton and Starling Thomas V.

Both Melton and Thomas saw a lot of run with the first-team defense throughout camp. The latter, though, may have a slight lead over the former entering preseason work after making one of his top plays at camp on Wednesday.

“I love Star. Star was actually somebody I gravitated toward when I first got here during OTAs,” Murphy-Bunting said Thursday. “He’s another guy that shows up every day, works hard. He knows the scheme and the ins and outs of the defense. He knows concepts on offense. He speaks highly in the team meeting room and the defensive meeting room.

“He knows what’s going on and he’s always doing the right thing. He’s very consistent in what he does. His game’s getting better and better every day.”

It also didn’t help that Melton was sidelined for a few practices with an undisclosed injury before returning to action Thursday.

Each should get a chance to make their case for starting over the next three weeks, although it’s going to be tough keeping the 2024 second-rounder off the field come the regular season.

Final verdict: Melton

RB2: Emari Demercado vs. Trey Benson

Entering training camp, it was Michael Carter and Benson tapped as the leading candidates to backup starter James Conner.

That thinking has changed dramatically, though, with Emari Demercado serving as Benson’s biggest competition and Carter slotting in as RB5 on the current depth chart.

Demercado was easily one of Arizona’s biggest standouts at camp given the amount of first-team reps and the confidence Gannon and others showed in the second-year pro, whether it be with the ball in his hands or in pass protection.

Still, it was Benson who popped up as RB2 on the first depth chart of the preseason.

The big things to watch here are how Demercado bounces back from a shoulder issue picked up Wednesday that kept him out for the final day of camp and Benson’s ability in pass protection.

If the rookie can prove he’s picked up that part of the game, he might take the RB2 role and run with it (no pun intended).

Final verdict: Benson

WR2: Michael Wilson vs. Zay Jones

Early on into camp, Jones and Wilson were trading highlight plays on the regular.

But as camp rolled on, it was Wilson who created even more distance between himself and the veteran thanks to his consistency and comfortability within the system.

Entering preseason play, that still holds true.

Of the battles listed, this one might be the most one-sided.

Final verdict: Wilson

DL: Darius Robinson vs. Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols

Robinson was used throughout the defensive line in a lot of different ways this camp.

He’s looked the part of a first-round pick, though he didn’t see nearly the same amount of first-team reps that both Nichols and Jones saw.

It feels like only a matter of time before Robinson cracks the starting lineup. Turning in a strong preseason performance could only help speed things up.

For now, though, Arizona appears confident in what both the veterans — and L.J. Collier — have brought to the table so far.

Final verdict: Jones and Nichols (for now)

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