CARDINALS

the left side, with free agent acquisitions Justin Pugh at right guard and Andre Smith at right tackle. Center A.Q. Shipley went down with a season-ending knee injury, so rookie Mason Cole, a third-round pick out of Michigan, is his replacement.

BRADFORD’S KNEE

Bradford’s history of injuries led the Cardinals to bring the quarterback along slowly. He didn’t begin taking regular firstteam reps until minicamp

and got regular days off during training camp.

Bradford said the results have been great. He completed his first seven passes in the preseason before having a couple dropped in the third game against Dallas, but Arizona really hasn’t amped up the passing game yet.

“I feel good right now,” he said. “My body’s in a good place and I think now we’ll see the benefits of the plan we had throughout OTAs and throughout the spring.”

ROOKIES GALORE

Rookies figure prominent roles.

Dynamic second-round pick Christian Kirk will return punts and might win the No. 2 receiver job. Cole is the center. And fourthround pick Chase Edmonds has shown to be a powerful backup to Johnson.

And that’s not counting quarterback Josh Rosen. Arizona moved up in the draft to pick Rosen 10th overall and he’s impressed his teammates and coaches by absorbing the offense so

to

fill

quickly, and incessantly asking questions.

Rosen gets his chance if Bradford goes down.

DEPTH ISSUES

Depth seems to be the biggest question mark for the Cardinals, particularly at linebacker and wide receiver.

Arizona has one of the best receivers to play the game in Larry Fitzgerald, who returns for his 15th season. But the pecking order after that is in flux.

The Cardinals have a talented trio of linebackers in Deone Bucannon, Haason Reddick and Josh Bynes, but the numbers are thin behind them. There’s also a big drop-off after the firstteam offensive line.

TURNOVER AVALANCHE

Arizona opponents had 16 turnovers in its first three preseason games, a whopping eight by the Cowboys.

The Cardinals were plus15 in takeaways through three preseason games. Can that continue at even a close pace in the games that count?