ARIZONA - We're less than a week away from the Arizona Cardinals trimming down their final active roster to 53 players, and there's a few names that might just be on the verge of being dropped.
Arizona, under the first-year watch of head coach Mike LaFleur, will be forced to make some awfully tough decisions in terms of who stays and who goes. The Cardinals are hoping their early start in training camp and fourth preseason game (compared to the typical three teams have) will give them enough information on players.
It's never easy, and during this time of year, talented players always fall through the cracks. The Cardinals could see a handful of veterans depart:
Benson, a third-year running back, very likely finds himself on the outside looking in. Benson suffered a meniscus injury last season and already had his back against the wall entering training camp.
Benson needed to perform well, though he wasn't even healthy enough to take part in majority of team activities. As a result, Bam Knight has taken over RB4 duties and if Arizona does indeed decide to keep four running backs, Knight's the guy.
At this point, Benson appears very likely to either be cut, traded or perhaps even placed on PUP - which would require him to miss at least the first four games.
Regardless, Benson's time very much appears to be winding down in the desert.
Ojulari finds himself slipping down the depth chart not due to injury like Benson, but rather inability to fully bounce back from a prior knee injury suffered ahead of the 2024 season.
Since, Ojulari's been fighting to not only get back on the field but also replicate the success he had towards the end of his rookie season. That hasn't happened, and Ojulari has gotten deep run into every preseason matchup with little production to pair against backups.
The rise of Eku Leota is notable in the outside linebacker's room, and Ojulari's window of opportunity to really make noise is closing. The Cardinals running Ojulari deep into games is telling of how they view him.
Clark's in a deep cornerback room that is fighting for roster spots, and somebody will likely be left out. Clark brings a mix of versatility and prior starting experience, though Garrett Williams' recent arrival back from PUP does give Arizona back perhaps their most versatile chess piece.
With Sean Murphy-Bunting recently making the switch to the slot, the Cardinals are plenty stacked at every position both inside and out, which doesn't bode well for Clark with all of Will Johnson, Denzel Burke, Max Melton and Starling Thomas also battling for playing time.
The cornerback room is so deep, this could practically be anybody. However, Clark loses out to the number's game here.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/cardinals/onsi as 3 Recent Cardinals Draft Picks Trending Toward the Roster Bubble .
