Arizona Cardinals to start season with five receivers

The Arizona Cardinals had 11 receivers in camp, keeping five for the 53-man roster

The Arizona Cardinals only keeping five receivers on the 53-man roster after cuts on Saturday was a bit surprising. Given the talent the Cardinals had in camp, some thought they would keep at least six.

The prevailing thought was the Cardinals would keep one of the receivers amongst the group of Chris Hubert, Jaxon Shipley, and Brittan Golden. All of them were cut.

Look for one or even possibly two of these guys on the practice squad if they clear waivers. All three of them had bright spots in camp and in preseason games.

Those who did stay were Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, John Brown, Jaron Brown, and J.J. Nelson. John Brown missed most of camp with a concussion and just returned to action this past week.

With the Cardinals opting to keep just five, clearly they felt they needed to keep depth where it was at at other positions. Keeping nine defensive lineman may have played a factor in keeping just five receivers.

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I would not rule out seeing Hubert, Shipley, or Golden again this season. A lot will play out on practice squads over the next two days. Any of the three receivers are good enough to be a number five or six receiver on most rosters.

It would be wise for the Cardinals to sign at least one of them to the practice squad given their history and the fact John Brown spent most of August nursing his concussion. Fitz also nursed a slightly sprained MCL over the last couple of weeks. He should be good to go next Sunday against the New England Patriots.

Jaron Brown was the surprise of camp as far as receivers go. He came out swinging with great catches early on in the first week of camp. He continued that into the preseason games.

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