In the Arizona Cardinals 16-14 preseason loss to the New Orleans Saints Saturday night, there were 29 players that participated in at least one of the 71 offensive snaps.
The first number after each name is snaps and the second is the percentage. Players in bold were starters.
Quarterbacks
- Clayton Tune 42/59, Desmond Ridder 29/41
- Did not play: Kyler Murray
Ridder started and played the first half, while Tune played the entire second half. Ridder and the backup offense faced Saints starters for a large part of the first two quarters, while Tune and the third unit played against the New Orleans second and third unit. The competition for the backup job to Murray will be ongoing for the next two weeks.
Running backs
- Michael Carter 20/28, Tony Jones Jr. 19/27, Trey Benson 18/25, DeeJay Dallas 14/20
- Did not play: James Conner, Emari Demercado
Carter was the leading rusher with 41 yards on seven carries and scored on an 11-yard run. Benson was 8-21, Dallas 3-21 and Jones 5-11. He was the only running back to catch any passes (3-24) and scored on a 10-yard play. Demercado suffered a shoulder injury earlier in the week in practice. Head coach Jonathan Gannon said of Benson, “I thought he ran it in there (well). I’m sure he’ll have a lot to learn from. I thought the first couple of carries he was seeing it a little bit, then I thought he stepped on the gas a couple of times as he got riled up and got going.”
Wide receivers
- Xavier Weaver 38/54, Tejhaun Palmer 33/36, Zach Pascal 31/44, Andre Baccellia 23/32, Dan Chisena 22/31, Chris Moore 21/30, Daniel Arias 13/18, Marvin Harrison Jr. (3/4)
- Did not play: Greg Dortch, Zay Jones, Jeff Smith, Michael Wilson
Chisena was the team leader in receptions (five on five targets) and yards (63). In addition to two catches for 12 yards, Weaver also had a three-yard run. Pascal had one reception, which was Ridder’s long gain of 22 yards. Three other receivers had catches: Baccellia, Moore and Palmer, who was targeted six times.
Harrison was in for three plays on a possession that began at the 10-yard line. After a one-yard run, Ridder was sacked on second down back to the five-yard line and Carter ran for nine yards on third and 15. Asked what Harrison gained from it, Gannon said, “His routine of what it looks like when he leaves the hotel, gets on the bus, gets here and warms up; all of that stuff. We ended up being backed up there, so there were some different plays because I wanted to see him touch it a little bit. But he’s good to go. He’ll learn from today too.”
Tight ends
- Blake Whiteheart 31/44, Travis Vokolek 29/41, Tip Reiman 22/31, Bernhard Seikovits 12/17, Elijah Higgins 6/8
- Did not play: Trey McBride
Whiteheart (2-22), Vokolek (1-8) and Seikovits (1-1) had receptions with Whiteheart and Seikovits having three targets.
Offensive linemen
- G Marquis Hayes 52/73, RG Dennis Daley 49/69, T Christian Jones 46/65, C Keith Ismael 42/59, LG Isaiah Adams 41/58, T Jackson Barton 39/55, T Austen Pleasants 32/45, C Trystan Colon 29/41, LT Elijah Wilkinson 19/27, RT Kelvin Beachum 6/8
- Did not play: G/C Evan Brown, C Hjalte Froholdt, C/G Jon Gaines II, G Will Hernandez, T Paris Johnson Jr., T Jonah Williams
With six linemen sitting it out, there were essentially two units that played together. Adams played with the first and second units and was taken out at one point after allowing a sack on a second-and-1 play. Beachum was at midfield as the game captain for the coin toss.
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