43 days till the Cardinals’ season opener against the Bills

Jesse Luketa now wears No. 43 for the Cardinals. So did Haason Reddick from 2017-2020.

The Arizona Cardinals have the day off in training camp today, the final Saturday in July, and are two weeks from their preseason opener at home against the New Orleans Saints.

As for their season opener, a Week 1 road game at Highmark Stadium against the Buffalo Bills, that is 43 days from today.

The Cardinals’ current No. 43 is linebacker Jesse Luketa, drafted in the seventh round two years ago.

He has made an impact on special teams so far in his career.

He has played in 21 games, logged 377 snaps on special teams, 179 on defense and eight on offense — he has been used as a fullback.

The last really impactful No. 43 was linebacker Haason Reddick, drafted in the first round by the Cardinals in 2017. He played four seasons and, after 7.5 combined sacks in his first three seasons, he exploded for 12.5 in 2020, including a five-sack game, before he left in free agency.

He has had double digits in sacks in four straight seasons, starting with his last year in Arizona.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on SpotifyYouTube or Apple podcasts.

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