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Marvin Harrison Jr. trade gives 2 Arizona Cardinals WRs new roles
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- Marvin Harrison Jr. trade gives 2 Arizona Cardinals WRs new roles
The Arizona Cardinals traded receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. on Sunday to the Houston Texans . That led to a change on Arizona's Week 6 depth chart .
Two receivers changed roles, and they should get a lot of playing time moving forward.
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Receivers Jalen Brooks and Reggie Virgil are the players being impacted.
Brooks was previously listed as the No. 2 'X' receiver on the roster behind Harrison. Virgil was listed as the No. 3 'Z' receiver, and he had been inactive for the Cardinals' first four games.
Brooks is now listed as the starting 'X' receiver, while Virgil is now the No. 2 'X'.
Brooks played 39 offensive snaps. Virgil played 13. Both had two receptions in the Cardinals' 45-21 loss to the Detroit Lions.
Head coach Mike LaFleur can't wait to see what Brooks does in his new role as a starter. "It's not too big for him," he said on Monday. "I'm excited for him to kind of be in the role all week in terms of that X-position and just get really comfortable."
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Virgil will also get more playing time.
"He's a good separator," LaFleur said Wednesday. "He has a lot of confidence in himself. You guys saw it in the preseason. He was making plays, albeit (it was) the preseason, but that was the action he got and he was making plays. I thought he got better as training camp went on. With that being said, we challenged him to even take it to another level. I think behind the scenes — you guys don't see it, so it doesn't really matter because everyone wants to see it on Sundays, but behind the scenes he's done a really nice job for us. He's earned the right to get the reps. He's doing a great job from the look squad and now he's moved himself into a spot as you guys saw, particularly in that second half to go out, produce and make plays for us."
Last week was obviously a change. Harrison practiced all week, so Brooks and Virgil both were thrown into action on Sunday with limited practice time.
"When they stepped into the game last week, I thought they did a good job on short notice of being prepared," quarterback Jacoby Brissett said Wednesday.
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As for what we can expect to see from the rookie Virgil this week, Brissett said, "You'll see on Sunday."
Could that mean a featured role for the fifth-round rookie?
We'll have to tune in on Sunday when the Cardinals face the Los Angeles Rams on the road at 4:05 p.m. ET (1:05 p.m. Arizona time).
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify , YouTube or Apple Podcasts .
This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Marvin Harrison Jr. trade gives 2 Arizona Cardinals WRs new roles
