The Arizona Cardinals will open training camp in a little more than a week and the position battles will begin. A few spots in the playing rotation are legitimately up for grabs. One is at cornerback.
Byron Murphy and Marco Wilson are the Cardinals’ top two guys but their third cornerback to play in their nickel package is not certain.
The three most likely guys to win the job are Antonio Hamilton, Breon Borders and Josh Jackson.
Hamilton played pretty well in limited action last season when called upon to fill in when players were injured. He is more of a special teams player but can fill in playing in the slot. If he plays, it means Byron Murphy would stay on the boundary full-time.
Jackson was signed by the Cardinals during minicamp. He has experience starting outside for the Packers and enters his fifth NFL season. He played only nine defensive snaps for the Chiefs last season.
Borders played one game for the Cardinals last season and struggled. He has bounced around the league and has a handful of starts in his career.
The rest of the guys on the roster are young. Seventh-round pick Christian Matthew is in the mix but played at a small school at Valdosta State. Darrell Baker is an undrafted rookie. Nate Brooks spent last season on the practice squad after being an undrafted rookie. Jace Whittaker has played mostly special teams in two seasons with the Cardinals, bouncing back and forth from the roster to the practice squad.
Who do you think will win the battle? Will they sign another player like Robert Alford to return and play?
Vote in the poll and give your thoughts in the comments below the article.
[polldaddy poll=11160712]
[vertical-gallery id=469281]
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
Latest show:
Previous shows:
and