Larry Fitzgerald and the Cardinals finish training camp with no major injuries and the approval of head coach Bruce Arians, who says he likes how the new players fit in.
After the Cardinals officially broke training camp on Friday and Bruce Arians gathered his team at midfield for one last chat before leaving University of Phoenix Stadium, the coach issued the same warning to the assembled media as he probably did moments earlier to his players.
“Be careful leaving the stadium,” he said. “Don’t be driving 100 mph.”
That’s about as fast as this camp seemed to fly by, although the club still has two preseason games left to play, including Sunday afternoon at the Houston Texans when the starters will see extended action.
Overall, the Cardinals’ fourth camp in the Arians era was deemed a complete success by the man wear-
ing the Kangol cap, the black glasses and the knee-high compression socks.
“I thought it was very, very businesslike,” Arians said. “I thought our guys came to work every day. We had maybe two lull practices, mostly the young guys. But this last week was very good. The assignment sheet (detailing mental mistakes and penalties) was very, very short. I also thought the speed of practices overall was very, very good.”
Avoiding the colossal injury
In each of Arians’ three seasons in Arizona, the Cardinals suffered a mammoth injury to a key contributor.
In 2013, it was first-round pick Jonathan Cooper suffering an injured leg in a preseason game. In 2014, it was veteran defensive tackle Darnell Dockett tearing his ACL during a non-contact drill in practice. Last season, it was nose tackle Corey Peters rupturing his Achilles' tendon for the second time in three years.
This year, it didn’t happen, although when that was brought to Arians’ attention on Friday, he became unglued enough to nearly put the reporter who mentioned it on season-ending injured reserve.
“Why you trying to jinx us, man? We ain’t done yet. C’mon, bro!” Arians said, shaking his head.
After knocking three times on the wooden podium, however, Arians acknowledged the Cardinals have been extremely lucky. Receiver John Brown (concussion), rookie defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche (ankle sprain) and backup outside linebacker Alex Okafor (torn biceps tendon) each had their issues in camp but are on the mend and will be ready for the regular season.
“We’re as heathy as we’ve been in three years,” Arians said, “and it’s a scary thing because we’ve got two games left coming up.”
New faces have fit in
In addition to all his rookies and undrafted free agents trying to make an impression in camp, Arians has to be pleased with how well the team’s signature additions such as pass rusher Chandler Jones, right guard Evan Mathis and safety Tyvon Branch – just to name a few – have meshed with the regulars.
“I think all those guys are exactly what we hoped for,” the coach agreed. “Solid pros, team-oriented people wanting to do whatever it takes to win the championship. And they all have solid roles.”
Position battles were sewn
Only one position among the starters is left to be decided: the cornerback spot opposite All-Pro Patrick Peterson. It’s now become a three-horse race among the incumbent, Justin Bethel, rookie Brandon Williams and late-addition veteran Mike Jenkins.
“It’s up in the air between three guys,” Arians reiterated on Friday.
The two other major starting jobs were won very early in camp as veteran A.Q. Shipley had Arians’ full trust at center almost from the start, and secondyear pro D.J. Humphries proved he was the answer at right tackle.
“I’m real pleased with both of them,” Arians said. “I thought D.J. really had just one poor practice and that was yesterday. But he competed extremely hard against two quality guys every day and he got better. And Q, he was exactly what I thought he was.”
All that’s really left to settle, Arians said, is “backup spots and rotation spots,” plus a choice at long snapper between Kameron Canady and Daniel Dillon.
Arians’ hospital scare
During the Cardinals’ week of practices in San Diego, Arians had to be rushed to a local hospital because of digestive problems related to diverticulosis, which he had been diagnosed with during a recent colonoscopy.
Arians, who turns 64 in October, said he would listen to doctors and try not to push himself too hard this season, but as quarterback Carson Palmer said after the incident, “We’ve got the toughest coach in the business.”
Camp good and bad
There were a few players who shined throughout, including running backs David Johnson and third-stringer Andre Ellington, rookie receiver Chris Hubert, “money” linebacker Deone Bucannon, safety Tony Jefferson, outside linebacker Markus Golden, offensive lineman Earl Watford and tight end Troy Niklas.
Arians on Friday also made sure to single out the recent play of Jenkins and rookie offensive lineman Cole Turner. But the star of camp had to be fourthyear receiver Jaron Brown, who made every catch and did a lot more than just jump a notch or two up the depth chart.
“He’s gotten the opportunity and he’s seized it,” Palmer said.
On the negative side, the quarterback depth behind Palmer is not in a good place. Backup Drew Stanton hasn’t really looked like himself and the battle for the No. 3 job between Matt Barkley and Jake Coker has been nothing short of a disaster.
Stanton should still be considered a dependable No. 2 because of how much time he’s spent in this offense, but it’s becoming crystal clear the “quarterback of the future” still isn’t here.
Contract extensions
The team has managed to extend the contracts of three of its star players – Palmer, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and Mathieu, who agreed to a five-year, $62.5 million deal. There are still contract situations left to be addressed regarding defensive tackle Calais Campbell, wide receiver Michael Floyd and pass rusher Jones, among others, but there’s time to get those done.
Arians, though, wasn’t interested in talking money on Friday when the Cardinals broke camp.
“You know, I don’t really look past this year so I don’t give a s--t,” he said. “It’s only about this year. We’ll worry about those extensions when they kick in. I’m just worried about this team.”
Note
Four important Cardinals are expected to make their preseason debuts on Sunday in Houston, including defensive back Mathieu, Arians said on Friday.
Mathieu (knee), Nkemdiche (ankle), defensive tackle Frostee Rucker (ankle) and Bethel (foot) recently returned to practice and will play varying amounts against the Texans.
“We’ll see about playing time when we get there,” Arians said.
Mathieu, Rucker and Bethel will play a maximum of 12 plays, the coach said. Nkemdiche will play “a bunch,” said Arians. “He’s got a lot of room to make up.”
OLB Shaq Riddick (oblique), CB Alan Ball (unknown), CB Elie Bouka (hamstring) and QB Jake Coker (knee) will not make the trip.
Coker was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Friday. His absence means Matt Barkley will play most, if not all, of the second half.
Coker should able to play against the Broncos on Sept. 1 in the final preseason game, Arians said.
Backup offensive lineman Earl Watford (knee) also should be able to play on Sunday, although he’s struggling adapting to wearing a brace.
“He’s got two more weeks to get to where he needs to be,” Arians said. “I’d like to see him have one real solid week of practice, especially at tackle.”
azcentralsports' Kent Somers contributed to this report