Jonathan Gannon on Cardinals roster: ‘The dust has not settled’
The Arizona Cardinals might have trimmed their roster down to 53 players on Tuesday, but head coach Jonathan Gannon warned against treating that group as a finished product.
“The dust has not settled,” Gannon said. “The better indication of the 53-man roster and the practice squad will be on Monday.”
The Cardinals did not claim any players on waivers Wednesday morning despite having the fourth priority. The Panthers, who had first priority, claimed six players.
The Patriots, at third, claimed five.
That left 15 players who the Cardinals passed on who were claimed by other teams. In the process, the Cardinals lost linebacker Trevor Nowaske, who was claimed by the Lions.
The waiver process, though, is hardly the final step of this post-cut roster shuffle. There are still players who will be added to practice squads. Plus, players across the league will be released to create room for Wednesday morning’s 27 waiver additions.
“Every team right now, there’s a period of time here in the next couple of days — (general manager Monti Ossenfort) is doing it right now — the dust hasn’t settled,” Gannon said. “But I feel really good about where we’re at right now.”
At practice Wednesday, the Cardinals had 15 players present who are not on the 53-man roster. The team later announced that all 15 were signed to the practice squad.
That group included nine players on offense: QB Desmond Ridder, RB Michael Carter, WR Dan Chisena, WR Tejhaun Palmer, WR Andre Baccellia, TE Bernhard Seikovits, OL Keith Ismael, OL Jackson Barton and OL Marquis Hayes Jr.
It also included five players on defense: DT Ben Stille, EDGE Julian Okwara, LB Markus Bailey, LB Krys Barnes, CB Jaden Davis, CB Divaad Wilson.
With Palmer and Davis returning, the Cardinals retained all 12 selections from this year’s draft. Okwara, meanwhile, is the only current practice squad addition from outside the organization. A third-round pick by the Lions in 2020, he has nine career sacks in 38 games.
Seikovits has a roster exemption through the international player pathway program. That creates an additional roster spot, meaning the Cardinals have room to make two more additions to the practice squad.
Cardinals bring back Desmond Ridder, Michael Carter
Ridder and Carter were the most notable names the Cardinals brought back to their practice squad. Ridder missed out on the backup quarterback job to Clayton Tune, while Carter was a roster casualty at running back with the Cardinals having four players ahead of him on the depth chart.
“I value Michael Carter very high,” Gannon said. “He’s a very good football player. He fits what we do here.”
Gannon also warned that Tune’s spot as the backup quarterback is not permanent.
“Their roles are defined going into Buffalo,” Gannon said. “But those roles can change quick.”
Gannon brushes aside concern over pass rush
The Cardinals’ corps of edge rushers has been the subject of much criticism. Despite tallying just one sack over the final six games last season, the team did not meaningfully address the position over the offseason. They drafted Xavier Thomas in the fifth round but did not use any of their early picks or cap space on edge rushers.
Then, in training camp, B.J. Ojulari tore his ACL, ending his season before it began — stripping the Cardinals of their most promising option. Gannon, though, hit back at the criticism surrounding that group.
“I’m comfortable,” Gannon said. “I am. I know you guys might not be comfortable but that’s okay. That’s your opinion.”
Gannon’s comfort level sounded based mainly on the Cardinals’ ability to devise ways to create pressure despite the group’s lack of an established sack producer.
“With what we have going into Buffalo, we’ll put a plan together that is the best thing for our players and our team to win the game,” Gannon said. “And that can look different a lot of different ways. We’re drastically different than this team, than that team, than the other team.
Everyone has different ways to do things and I think we’re gonna be fine. It’s on the coaches to do a good job with who we have to make sure that we can have success.”
