Drenched: Rain takes center stage as Cardinals wrap joint practices with Colts

WESTFIELD, Ind. — Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon told everyone pre-practice to have their rain gear handy ahead of the final day of joint practice with the Indianapolis Colts.

He wasn’t lying.

Just as the players took the field for stretching, the sky opened up and dumped some serious precipitation. Aside from a few momentary breaks from the heavy stuff, the rain was steady throughout.

Despite the added elements, the Cardinals — most notable Arizona’s secondary — didn’t seem to mind.

The rain is coming down as the Cardinals and Colts embark on Day 2 of joint practices.

Arizona’s secondary doesn’t seem to mind one bit. pic.twitter.com/HG3xv2stQf

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) August 15, 2024

“It’s a little bit of a change, especially being in a dome the past couple weeks back in Arizona,” linebacker Krys Barnes said after practice. “Honestly, it’s nice for us to have a little chance at adversity and be able to feel something different than we usually feel. Going against a good team as well. It was a good challenge for us and I think we handled it pretty well.”

As for the play on the field, the weather impacted Cardinals rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. very little.

Picking up where he left off from Wednesday, Harrison again had multiple defenders on skates during 1-on-1 work.

#AZCardinals WR @MarvHarrisonJr vs #Colts starting CB Jaylon Johnson.#MandatoryMarvin pic.twitter.com/uTEh5rXM2I

— Paul Calvisi (@PaulCalvisi) August 15, 2024

Michael Wilson and Greg Dortch continued their consistent play as well.

Of the Cardinals’ position groups, the wide receiving corps led the way through the two days of joint work.

“It was really fun to just get out here and compete,” Dortch said Thursday. “I’m a big competitor so it feels good to come out here and compete.”

“You can’t control the weather, but you can control your effort and how hard you play,” the wideout added.

Where is Cardinals WR Greg Dortch’s confidence level at after stacking joint practices on top of his strong training camp?

“Confidence has always been high. … Hopefully when I play you can see it.” pic.twitter.com/c8LyT8gzvZ

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) August 16, 2024

Not the way to finish

While the Cardinals wideouts turned in another strong day of work, it was another rough ending to practice for the Cardinals’ first-team offense as a whole.

Running two two-minute drills against Indianapolis’ first-team defense to close out practice, quarterback Kyler Murray and the rest of the unit just couldn’t find a rhythm. The issues included multiple incompletions, penalties, a dropped ball and what looked like a “sack” in the stretch of work that did not result in a touchdown.

It definitely wasn’t the way head coach Jonathan Gannon, who said before practice that he wanted to see his team turn in a full practice with good technique, drew it up heading into Day 2.

Even with the poor ending, those within the offense picked up a lot these past two days against someone other than themselves.

“It was really good to see some different faces, some different jerseys and stuff like that,” center Hjalte Froholdt said Thursday. “It was a different type of defense than we usually play against, so it was good to kind of feel that out. Some ups and some downs, but overall, got a lot out of it.”

Arizona Cardinals C Hjalte Froholdt looks back on the joint practice work with the Colts following Day 2:

“Some ups and some downs, but overall, got a lot out of it.” pic.twitter.com/HqqJliTkGK

— Cardinals Corner (@AZCardsCorner) August 16, 2024

“It’s easy to get frustrated in these practices, the momentum swings back and forth … but there’s always some things we can easily correct,” the center added. “I have all the trust and belief in our offense to get out there and score some points.”

Arizona’s first-team defense didn’t fare much better during its two-minute drill against the Colts’ starters. Cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting didn’t help matters with a pass interference call deep in Colts territory that was followed up with an Anthony Richardson touchdown run.

The Cardinals’ biggest positive during the two-minute work came from the second-team defense led by Dante Stills and Dennis Gardeck.

Up against Joe Flacco and Indianapolis’ second-team offense, both Stills and Gardeck appeared to get to the quarterback on separate occasions.

And while Flacco was able to pick up a couple of first downs, Arizona did its job by keeping Indianapolis out of the end zone.

Fittingly, it was former Colts cornerback Darren Hall who registered the pass defensed in the end zone.

“Last play of practice for me against a team (that I was with) last year. Felt a little personal, a little emotionally driven but gotta be composed at the end. Can’t go over there and talk to the sideline and what not, but it was a good play for me.”

Darren Hall on his final play (the PBU) of joint practice action: https://t.co/LnrXn4Boti pic.twitter.com/UeRoGPLTr2

— Cardinals Corner (@AZCardsCorner) August 16, 2024

Hall entered training camp with a steep climb up the depth chart ahead of him but has since impressed working with the second- and third-team defense.

Up next

The Cardinals will have a walkthrough on Friday before taking on the Colts in Week 2 of the preseason.

While it’s unclear what Gannon is going to do when it comes to playing time, Colts head coach Shane Steichen told reporters after practice that Indianapolis’ starters and Flacco will not play.

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