The Arizona Cardinals are a franchise that has struggled in recent seasons. The team has had more frustrations than highlights, with their last Super Bowl appearance coming more than 15 years ago. The team finished 4-13 on the year in 2023. The squad hopes for much better results in 2024, with a lot of talented younger guys on the roster. One of those talents is rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who will be called upon to put up some big numbers.
While Harrison is almost assured a roster spot, there are many other guys who are not. Here are 3 of those Cardinals players, who must excel this preseason to find a place on the team's roster.
Dante Stills, DL
Dante Stills is a defensive lineman for the team, who found some success in 2023. He is in his second season, after getting drafted by Arizona in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Last season as a rookie, Stills finished the campaign with 47 total tackles. He proved to be an effective pass rusher, picking up 3.5 sacks. Stills was part of a young Cardinals defensive line that got banged up with injuries. Despite those problems, he found his way regularly into the defensive line rotation. Stills played more than 500 total snaps last season, per Sports Illustrated.
Arizona brought in several defensive linemen this offseason to try and help the team. That includes Bilal Nichols, Justin Jones and L.J. Collier. The team has several guys fighting for a limited amount of roster spots. With not as much experience as some of these other players, Stills must have a brilliant preseason to get his place on the team.
Emari Demercado, RB
Emari Demercado is a rusher who carried the ball 58 times last season for Arizona. The former undrafted free agent gained a total of 284 yards, with two touchdowns. He also posted 21 receptions for 119 yards.
Demercado is also finding himself on the bubble this offseason. The Cardinals are carrying a whole bunch of backs, six of them in fact. With this many runners on the roster, it is inevitable that a few of them won't make it on the team. Like with the defensive line, the Cardinals picked up some new players at the running back spot this offseason. One of those rushers is DeeJay Dallas, who can also be used in the special teams unit. Arizona also drafted a rusher in the 2024 NFL Draft, selecting Trey Benson from Florida State in the third round.
Demercado finds himself on the bubble with something to prove. James Comer is likely running back no. 1 on this squad, as he had a 1,000 yard rushing season in 2023. Demercado must have an excellent preseason to show Cardinals management that he's worth holding on to.
Jesse Luketa, LB
Another player in the Cardinals defense who finds himself on the bubble is Jesse Luketa. Luketa is a linebacker who was taken in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft. While the linebacker signed a one-year deal with Arizona earlier in the year, it is by no means sure he will make the roster.
Luketa had a very limited presence on the team last season. He recorded 11 tackles in total, with four solo stops. The linebacker was a standout at Penn State football in college. He finished his college career with 151 total tackles.
The Cardinals have several linebackers already who are expected to play a lot of snaps this coming season. That includes Kyzir White and Mack Wilson Sr. The team didn't use any of their NFL Draft picks this year on linebackers, but the team did grab a couple of edge players who could steal some snaps at a linebacker position too. Luketa will have to have a solid preseason to keep his role on the Cardinals' roster.
Arizona starts their NFL preseason contests on August 10, with a game against the New Orleans Saints.
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