Cardinals Camp — Aug 31: Three Backs and a Bet on Love's Ankle

The Cardinals answered the biggest question of their camp by declining to hedge it. Arizona kept three running backs on the 53 — Jeremiyah Love, Tyler Allgeier and Bam Knight — a decision the beat reads as the team signaling confidence that Love's high ankle sprain will be healed for the September 13 opener against the Chargers, per Donnie Druin at Sports Illustrated's All Cardinals. The room emptied around the rookie all week. Trey Benson, the 2024 third-round pick, was waived on August 24, six days before the deadline, after two injury-riddled seasons and 17 total games, per Jason Owens at Yahoo Sports. Corey Kiner, who ran for 182 preseason yards, was traded to the Patriots for a 2028 seventh-round pick pending a physical, a deal Adam Schefter reported first, per Bailey Leasure at Arizona Sports. Evan Hull was waived two days after rushing for 107 yards in the finale, per Jess Root's cut list at Cards Wire, and James Conner went to injured reserve with a designation to return after failing to progress to team drills in camp, also per Root. That leaves the load on a back who is not yet on the field: Love did not practice during Packers week and did sideline conditioning work during Friday's finale, per Pankti Parmar at Heavy.com. The words around him are warm — Mike LaFleur said Love is "doing well, progressing well, and kind of in the next phase of it," per the same report, and Arizona Sports 98.7's John Gambadoro has him "trending in the right direction for week one, needs to keep progressing though - still a ways to go but looking positive." A three-man backfield built around an unpracticed ankle is a bet, not a ruling, and the front office placed it anyway.

The full ledger ran 34 players, per Root at Cards Wire, and the week's departures included two more recent premium picks besides Benson. B.J. Ojulari, the 2023 second-round pick who by Darren Urban's account at the team website never fully recovered from a multi-ligament knee injury, lost the last edge spot to Eku Leota and was waived; cornerback Elijah Jones, a 2024 third-rounder, went out in the same batch, per Root. Kedon Slovis was waived, a move Mike Garafolo reported first, per Charean Williams at Pro Football Talk, settling the quarterback room at Jacoby Brissett, Gardner Minshew and Carson Beck — and Beck made the 53 without having played a snap since the Hall of Fame Game on August 1, after sitting the finale too — Urban's reporting, relayed by NBC Sports, had him unlikely to play. No report in the window has him back at full practice. The bottom of the roster went to youth and special teams: sixth-round rookie Karson Sharar beat veteran Owen Pappoe for the fourth inside linebacker job on special-teams value, per Druin, undrafted safety Wydett Williams Jr. made it on his preseason impact, per Urban, and the Cardinals kept seven receivers, with Simi Fehoko and Jalen Brooks earning the last spots partly on special teams and partly on fear of losing them to waivers, per Druin. Blake Gillikin, hurt in pregame warmups on August 22, kept the punting job, and fill-in Jack Browning was waived, per Root.

At cornerback, the battle we tracked was not the decision that mattered. A week ago the watch was Max Melton and Denzel Burke trading reps for the second cornerback spot; both made the roster, and the room is Will Johnson, Garrett Williams, Melton, Burke and Kei'Trel Clark, per Theo Mackie at the Arizona Republic. The hinge was a return our last episode didn't mention: Williams was activated from the physically-unable-to-perform list on August 20, eight months after tearing an Achilles tendon, per the Associated Press — and on cut day the Cardinals released Sean Murphy-Bunting, their camp starting nickel, a cut the beat treated as a surprise, first reported by CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz, per Tyler Drake at Arizona Sports. Urban wrote that the release signals the team's confidence in Williams at the slot. Starling Thomas V was released in the same move, per Drake.

Tight end is where the week contradicted us most directly. On August 23 we had Teagan Quitoriano making a case as the primary blocking tight end. He was waived, per Root, and the Cardinals solved the position from outside instead: with Tip Reiman moved to the reserve/physically-unable-to-perform list — out at least the first four games, per Root — Arizona traded a 2028 sixth-round pick to Jacksonville for blocking tight end Hunter Long plus a 2028 seventh-rounder, a deal NFL Media reported with Ian Rapoport adding the compensation, per Josh Alper at Pro Football Talk.

The finale, briefly: Packers 42, Cardinals 38 in Green Bay on Friday, with both teams resting starters and Green Bay's Kyle McCord throwing back-to-back touchdown passes in the final three and a half minutes, per Steve Megargee of the Associated Press. What matters now that the 53 is known: Minshew went 7 of 9 for 126 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown to Fehoko, who finished with five catches for 94 yards and two scores — and made the team. Slovis went 21 of 35 with two interceptions and was waived. Hull ran for 107 yards and two touchdowns and was waived. Ihmir Smith-Marsette hurt an ankle in the third quarter, was carted to the locker room, and was waived two days later, per Megargee's recap and Root's list.

Back in July we previewed Arizona as a positioning year — a season graded less on the standings than on whether Love looks like a third overall pick, whether Trey McBride's target share survives the coordinator change, and whether the quarterback bridge holds long enough for Beck to answer the 2027 question. Cut day committed the roster to that framing without settling any of it. The backfield was built on the assumption that the first question gets its exhibit back by Week 1; the bridge held its shape, with Beck kept as the third quarterback on faith rather than film; and McBride's new company at tight end is a blocker acquired by trade, not a target rival. The bet is on the table. The evidence is still due.

What to watch next: where this week's cut names land — waivers were set to process Monday afternoon and practice squads can only begin forming after they clear, per Seth Cox at Revenge of the Birds — so the landing spots are the next episode's job. Then the question that outranks everything else here: whether Love takes a practice rep before the Chargers arrive on September 13, with Beck's return to full work close behind. We'll check back once the claims and the practice squads are in.

_Data via nflverse._