Training camp is nearly upon the Cardinals – a handful of select players have already shown up to the Dignity Health Training Center – and so the storylines start.
Part One can be found here. Here is Part Two.
WHERE WILL THE PASS RUSH COME FROM?
Chandler Jones is gone, and there was no high-profile replacement brought in. Markus Golden – who actually led the Cardinals in sacks last year – is the No. 1 guy. Beyond that? Devon Kennard hasn’t been used as a pass rusher since he arrived in Arizona. Dennis Gardeck is fully back from his ACL tear of 2020, and hopes he can recapture some of that season’s pass-rushing efficiency. The team spent two third-round picks on Cameron Thomas and Myjai Sanders – but that’s no guarantee. There are positions that could feature an additional signing, but pass rusher might not be one of them. Vance Joseph will need to scheme up some new features, at least some of the time.
WILL THE CARDINALS FIND SOME CORNERBACK DEPTH?
Cornerback is a spot where a signing makes sense. The Cardinals have Byron Murphy Jr. and Marco Wilson but beyond that, Antonio Hamilton has experience (and played significant time for the Cardinals last year after Robert Alford got hurt.) The team added Josh Jackson, who has some experience, but it would be a risk if the Cards assume he will definitely be the guy they need. There are vets still out there – Alford, Kevin King, Janoris Jenkins, Joe Haden, among others – so might one of them fit?
WHAT WILL BE THE ROLES OF ISAIAH SIMMONS AND ZAVEN COLLINS?
The Cardinals need to get their past two first-round picks on the field. Every time Vance Joseph is asked about it, Simmons and Collins are the inside linebackers on a team that, at its base, is a 3-4. But the idea is to get the best, most effective players on the field, and if that means Simmons works a little bit like a third safety (while only two cornerbacks are on the field) or Collins takes some reps at outside linebacker, OK then. It makes the outset of…
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