Arizona Cardinals 53-man roster projection after Preseason Week 2

The Arizona Cardinals had an eye-opening performance in their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last weekend. While the starting defense looked good, the backups were horrible, to say the least, and you will see a little turbulence on the defensive side of the ball in these projections because of it. 

So if the “final cutdown” to 53 players happened today, who would find themselves on the Cardinals roster for at least a few hours - I’ll explain why that is toward the end of the article. Keep reading to gain some insight as to who could hear their name called, and who could be looking to stick with another team. 

Who makes the Arizona Cardinals final roster if the cutdown happened today?

Offense

There is no change at quarterback, with Colt McCoy, Clayton Tune, and David Blough surviving the final cutdown. McCoy is still the starter here, but unless he learns to move the ball more effectively, expect Tune to be knocking on the door and perhaps even seeing playing time against Washington - or at least he should be. Kyler Murray will start the season on the reserve/PUP list, and could be back following the fourth game.

James Conner and Keontay Ingram are the one-two combo the Arizona Cardinals need this season. Following his performance this past week as a pass-catcher and kick returner, Emari Demercado sticks as the RB3, and Corey Clement replaces Ty’Son Williams in this week’s projection.

Marquise Brown is the WR1 while Michael Wilson sneaks in as the WR2 over Zach Pascal, Greg Dortch, and Rondale Moore. They will all make the roster along with Daniel Arias, whose ability to play special teams gives him more value over guys like Kaden Davis and Andre Baccellia, though the practice squad could be an option for the latter two.

Zach Ertz is still the top man on the depth chart at the time of this writing, but Trey McBride should wind up with the honor, especially now that we know he can be a willing fullback. Blake Whiteheart is also getting the nod this week over Noah Togiai, who let a gift from Clayton Tune this past Saturday slip right through his hands. 

The offensive line also remains the same as last week’s, with Paris Johnson and D.J. Humphries comprising the starting tackles while Josh Jones and Kelvin Beachum provide duties as the backups. Will Hernandez will start at right guard with Elijah Wilkinson winning the battle to start at left guard, and Dennis Daley can serve as the swing backup, along with Jon Gaines II. Gaines will also back up center Hjalte Froholdt.