Day 1 of Arizona Cardinals training camp is in the books after a practice of about 1 hour, 10 minutes inside State Farm Stadium. This is the acclimation period that all teams have at the start of workouts, so players were in only shells and helmets.
One notable aspect is that except for the quarterbacks and specialists, all players are wearing the Guardian helmets that help mitigate hits that can lead to concussions.
Also, one change for the Cardinals is that the practice jerseys now have names on the back to make it easy for everyone to identify the players.
Here are some observations from Day 1:
It was a “low” day
In his planning of practices, head coach Jonathan Gannon alternates days with high tempo, those with lower tempo and some in the middle.
However, in their first work since the one minicamp practice on June 11, even though it was a “low” day, the energy was high. Running back James Conner said, “We’re excited.”
He added, “I think we went hard today, and today was Day 1. I was looking forward the whole offseason just to get back and get to camp and be around all of the guys and take it day by day and get better. It was a good first day.”
Asked to compare it to OTAs and minicamp, while acknowledging it was a “low” day, rookie cornerback Max Melton said, “We feel it’s go-time now. It’s here. You can feel the tension rising.”
Competition among cornerbacks
All three quarterbacks – Kyler Murray, Desmond Ridder and Clayton Tune – got work with mostly short, timing-based routes in seven-on-seven play and the cornerbacks were competing.
The young corners room and the battle for jobs will be a theme throughout the summer, and the veteran in the group, Sean Murphy-Bunting, noted, “It’s a very competitive room, but it’s a healthy competition. We lean on each other, and we have a lot to look forward to.”
Running backs as pass-catchers
Many of the drills involved that aspect of the game along with some of the shorter throws in seven-on-seven work.
Conner said he wants to continue to keep improving as a pass-catcher and in one drill, Murray hit all the backs in stride down the sideline. Conner, Trey Benson, Michael Carter, Emari Demercado and Tony Jones Jr. made the catches, albeit without any defense being played.
Gaines looks good running
As reported earlier, offensive lineman Jon Gaines II is practicing and wasn’t placed on active/physically unable to perform to start camp. He has worked hard to return from a torn ACL suffered against the Vikings in the final preseason game last season.
And while he didn’t participate when the offensive line was matched against the defensive line, it was a good sign that Gaines was running well when going from drill to drill, or when sides were switched on the field.
Fans will be watching
Thursday will be the first of nine open practices for fans to be in attendance.
The annual Red & White practice is on Saturday, Aug. 3 and the preseason opener is Saturday, Aug. 10 against the Saints. It’s the only one at home among the three preseason games.
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