Predicting Arizona Cardinals’ 53-man roster: Offense

The preseason slate is officially over for the Arizona Cardinals following a 38-12 to the Denver Broncos. Next up, initial 53-man roster cuts.

With the cutdown deadline set for Tuesday at 1 p.m. MST, there are more than a few decisions looming for head coach Jonathan Gannon and general manager Monti Ossenfort.

Using intel gathered from training camp, joint practice and three preseason games, here’s one writer’s best guess at what Arizona’s initial 53-man roster might look like come Tuesday.

Kicking off the two-part series is the offense.

Cardinals 53-man roster prediction: Offense

Quarterbacks (2)

– Kyler Murray
– Clayton Tune

Murray’s standing on the team is the biggest no-brainer on the roster. He turned in a full training camp workload and further built connections with his playmakers behind added work in Los Angeles and Arizona.

As for who is backing him up, the original thinking many had may no longer be the case.

While Arizona went out and added veteran quarterback Desmond Ridder and his 17 starts via trade this offseason, it’s Clayton Tune who’s made the bigger case for QB2.

Besides turning in a better training camp than his counterpart, Tune widened the gap with a pair of strong preseason showings. Scoring through the air and on the ground across the first two games, the second-year pro showed off his improved timing and knowledge of the system.

And while he didn’t find pay dirt Sunday against the Broncos, Tune helped orchestrate Arizona’s only score of the first half — a 50-yard Matt Prater field goal. For the game, Tune completed 12 of his 18 pass attempts for 119 yards. He did throw a pick-6 but had to come in on short order after Ridder took a big hit late in the game.

It’s been a different story for Ridder.

Throughout training camp, the veteran struggled to keep the ball out of the defense’s grasps. That was made more obvious as his first and only rep during two-minute work at last week’s joint practice resulted in an interception.

His start against the New Orleans Saints left little positives behind 43 yards on 4-of-9 passing. He improved those marks last week against the Indianapolis Colts, going 6-of-10 for 71 yards but still could not find the end zone.

He saved his best for last on Sunday, throwing for 111 yards on 10-of-16 passing, but had to leave the game after taking a hard hit. He did not finish the game and went into concussion protocol, Gannon said postgame.

The Cardinals shipped off wide receiver Rondale Moore, who was already getting pushed for playing time by Greg Dortch, to acquire Ridder. That doesn’t mean general manager Monti Ossenfort can’t cut his losses or try to move the veteran elsewhere.

There is a world where Arizona keeps all three, but there are plenty of other positions on the roster that could use the added body.

How Ridder comes out of concussion protocol could impact things here, too.

Running backs (5)

– James Conner
– Trey Benson
– Emari Demercado
– DeeJay Dallas
– Michael Carter

This is one of the toughest position groups to nail down given the talent on the depth chart.

Conner and Benson are expected to make an impact out of the backfield, while Demercado brings valuable pass pro abilities on third down. Dallas was brought aboard mainly for his special teams prowess, which has been on display since he got to town.

That left Michael Carter, who has done more than enough to warrant an NFL roster spot as the likely odd man out in the deep room entering the week. But with Zay Jones suspended for the first five games of the year, another roster spot is up for grabs.

Arizona could very well look at another wide receiver to take Jones’ place on the depth chart. It could also look at keeping all five running backs, which wouldn’t be the worst move given how much the Cardinals are expected to run the rock in 2024.

Carter has been an option in Arizona’s backfield since joining the team as a midseason waiver claim in 2023. Entering the offseason, he was viewed by many as the Cardinals’ RB2. The addition of Benson in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft on top of Demercado’s upped usage have since flipped that thinking.

Keeping five running backs isn’t a common practice at the NFL level. So even if Carter doesn’t stick in Arizona, there’s a good chance he ends up on a 53-man roster elsewhere. The Cardinals’ practice squad is another option if Carter can’t stick with a team.

Wide receivers (5)

– Marvin Harrison Jr.
– Michael Wilson
– Greg Dortch
– Zach Pascal
– Xavier Weaver

Arizona’s wide receivers room took a big hit on Friday with the NFL suspending Jones five games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

Jones was one of the Cardinals’ top four wide-receiving options heading into the regular season. Now, he won’t see the field until Week 6 at the earliest.

With Jones starting on the reserve/suspended list, that opens up at least another spot on the roster that could be filled with rookies Xavier Weaver and Tejhaun Palmer or veteran Chris Moore.

Dan Chisena is in the mix, too, after flashing this preseason.

Tight ends (3)

– Trey McBride
– Tip Reiman
– Elijah Higgins

All signs point to McBride having another big year after breaking out in 2023.

Reiman has lived up to the billing of a run-blocking mauler, while Higgins continues to show improvement following the former wideout’s switch to tight end last year.

“Elijah’s a very talent player. He’s in a room that’s very competitive and he’s competing,” passing game specialist Spencer Whipple told Arizona Sports during training camp. “He’s very curious and coachable. He wants to keep learning. That’s like all of our players.

“There’s a transition from playing receiver your whole life and then going to tight end. He’s grasped hold of that and now he’s trying to improve the little details that he can, technique, fundamentals, always asking questions.”

Offensive line (9)

– Paris Johnson Jr.
– Evan Brown
– Hjalte Froholdt
– Will Hernandez
– Jonah Williams
– Kelvin Beachum
– Jon Gaines II
– Isaiah Adams
– Christian Jones

Yes, Jones was dinged on three consecutive holding penalties against the Indianapolis Colts. He should still have a place on the roster after Arizona used a fifth-round pick on the tackle this past NFL Draft.

He did leave Sunday’s game on a cart, however, after going down late. If he were to miss any time, that would open up the door for another lineman to step into his role.

The rest of the OL room is pretty self-explanatory. Beyond Arizona’s solidified starting lineup, the Cardinals have a reliable swing tackle in Beachum. Second-year pro Jon Gaines II, who can play all three interior spots, looks improved coming off a season-ending knee injury. Adams has flashed as a plus run blocker.

Follow @Tdrake4sports