Arizona Cardinals camp preview: Linebackers

The Backups

The Cardinals, if nothing else, have a lot of bodies in camp at linebacker.  They had no choice given how disappointing they were in 2018.  The change to a 3-4 defensive scheme also is a huge part of that.

One the inside, the top backups are Dennis Gardeck, who had a surprising 2018, and Zeke Turner, who is in his second season out of Washington.  Turner someday could be a regular starter.

They also have Dante Booker.  Booker is an a rookie from Ohio State. Third-year player Tanner Vallejo out of Boise State and fourth-year player Joe Walker out of Oregon.

First-year player Pete Robertson is also on the inside.  He rounds out that part of the linebacking crew.

On the outside, they have Vontarrius Dora, a first-year player out of Louisiana Tech.  He got into two games at the end of the 2018 season for the Cardinals.

They have two other bodies in camp on the outside.  Second-year player Cameron Malveaux out of Houston and Pita Taumoepenu, also a second-year player out of Utah.

All in all, the Cardinals have 14 linebackers on the 90-man roster.  Look for them to keep at least around eight of them once the 53-man roster is decided.