ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals approach training camp with a handful of questions, though none are bigger than the cornerback room.
Arizona’s secondary was considered one of the worst in the league last season. Their two starters at the beginning of 2023 – Marco Wilson and Antonio Hamilton – have both departed since, leaving room for the Cardinals to deploy fresh faces almost across the board.
There’s a lot of unknown for how the Cardinals will perform in the secondary. Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson remain one of the league’s best (and sometimes underrated) safety duos, though the players in front of them are either new or inexperienced.
Take the assumed starting cornerback in Sean Murphy-Bunting, who inked a deal with the Cardinals this offseason after a down season with the Titans. Prior to playing in Tennessee in 2023, he was a big part of Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl run just a couple seasons ago.
Murphy-Bunting just turned 27 and is considered the veteran in a room full of young and mostly unproven players.
Cardinals defensive coordinator Nick Rallis told reporters every spot is open for business:
“I think it’s pretty simple. It’s highly competitive and it’s up for grabs for guys to go take and earn spots, which is a great problem to have. I’m excited, it’s going to be really good competition,” Rallis said.
“I want to see a lot of guys take strides during training camp, and I want there to be tough decisions on who’s going to earn certain roles.”
As of now, Murphy-Bunting projects to be one of three starters in the secondary. Second-year slot corner Garrett Williams also assumes to have a spot after his stellar play last season while second-round pick Max Melton has the opportunity to grab the other starting spot on the boundary.
Behind them, second-year guys such as Starling Thomas and Kei’Trel Clark filled big roles for Arizona last season, playing roughly 42% of total snaps each. We also haven’t factored in current rookies Elijah Jones and Jaden Davis, either.
In total, six players are either rookies or have just completed their first season in Arizona’s secondary.
Inexperience? Sure. But the Cardinals are excited about the potential competition brewing at training camp.
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Publish date : 2024-07-12 13:40:47
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