Bethel’s future bright

There is competition nearly everywhere in camp, but Arians said anyone would be hard-pressed to oust second-year man Justin Bethel from his spot as the Cardinals’ primary “gunner” on kick and punt coverage.

“Justin Bethel is outstanding,” Arians said. “He’s got a good resume. It will be tough to unseat him there.”

Bethel finished second on the team with 14 tackles on special teams last season, and he returned a blocked field-goal attempt for a touchdown against the Bears in Week 16.

“Of all the players when I look back at last season, he was the one guy that improved probably the most from Day 1,” punter Dave Zastudil said. “You could see it every game that weplayed, he got better and better. He’s got a great work ethic, he’s fast and he’s physical.

“But the biggest thing that’s going to help him this year is he’s a smarter player. He understands what the gunner role is; he understands coverage teams now. I’m excited to see him flourish. He’s an up-and-coming player.”

Williams update

Running back Ryan Williams chose not to seek a second opinion on his sore right knee. Instead, he opted to remain at University of Phoenix Stadium for therapy and rehab.

He was kept out of practice Tuesday, and if all goes well following today’s off day, he will be ready for workouts on Thursday when the team trains outside at its Tempe facility.

“He said he feels really good today,” Arians said. “We’ll see how he does in goal-line scrimmage (drills) on Thursday.”

Warner on retirement

Former Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner, who was at camp on Tuesday with the NFL Network, was asked about the first person he called in the organization when he decided to retire following the 2009 season.

“Larry (Fitzgerald) was the first person that knew it was going to happen. I definitely called him first,” Warner said. “We had talked about it earlier in the year, and as close as we were, I had to tell him. Of course, he tried to talk me out of it. He tried to talk me out of it for two years after I did it. He still tries every time I talk to him.”