Arizona Cardinals: Last Day of OTA’s

Aug 17, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Dallas Cowboys tight end Gavin Escobar (89) scores a touchdown as Arizona Cardinals inside linebacker Kevin Minter (51) and safety Tony Jefferson (36) defend during the third quarter at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Cowboys 12-7. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Cardinals finish up their last day of OTA’s before a mandatory minicamp next week and then time off until training camp in July.  What more do we know about the Cards today than we did in May before OTA’s?  Well..we know quite a bit more but still a lot to resolve.

We know that inside linebacker Daryl Washington is out for the season on suspension and not for the reasons we all thought initially.  He hit strike three in the NFL’s substance abuse policy.  Now the Cards are left scrambling to replace him (and Karlos Dansby for that matter).  They signed Ernie Sims to a contract on Tuesday.  He won’t be able to “replace” Washington but I also don’t think he’s going to be the bust everyone keeps complaining about either.  What else did you expect the Cards to do?  There was only so much they could do.

We know now that the Cards plan on using running back Andre Ellington quite a bit, not necessarily giving him more carries but more touches.  Coach Bruce Arians said they want to give him 25-30 touches a game this season.  That sounds reasonable to me given all the other weapons the Cards have to utilize.

We will be expecting a lot guys like Kevin Minter, Ted Ginn Jr, John Carlson, and John Brown.  They all step into positions filled by guys who had a lot of success before them.

The offensive line is coming together.  Eric Winston still isn’t signed but I would expect that before training camp.  Jonathan Cooper is still coming off his injury and has not practiced yet.  They are hoping we are able to see him during camp sometime.  We just don’t know right now.  He’s still only just under 10 months since the injury.

We know enough to be excited though for the upcoming training camp and season.  For now, let’s just hope for no injuries today or in next weeks mandatory camp before the Cards head off to finish the off-season.