Week 1 injury report: WR KeeSean Johnson doesn’t practice

Check out the Cardinals’ second injury report of the week.

The Arizona Cardinals returned to the practice field on Thursday and saw minor changes to the injury report. Two players were upgraded and one sat out.

Receivers Larry Fitzgerald and DeAndre Hopkins, who were both limited on Wednesday but with no injury, were full participants. However, receiver KeeSean Johnson, who did not appear on the injury report on Wednesday, did not participate on Thursday, although it was not injury-related.

Tight end Maxx Williams (ankle) was limited for the second day in a row, while rookie tackle Josh Jones (ankle) did not practice for the second day in a row.

Did not participate:

OL Josh Jones (ankle)
WR KeeSean Johnson (not injury-related)

Limited:

TE Maxx Williams (ankle)

Full participation:

WR Larry Fitzgerald (no injury)
WR DeAndre Hopkins (no injury)

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KeeSean Johnson knew WR coach David Raih before either were with Cardinals

Johnson met his receivers coach when he attended Davante Adams’ wedding, when Raih was his receivers coach with the Packers.

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver KeeSean Johnson and wide receivers coach David Raih didn’t cross paths professionally until Raih was coaching for the Cardinals until after Johnson’s final season at Fresno State University. However, the two actually met socially before either had any connections to the Cardinals.

Before joining head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s staff, Raih was a receivers coach for the Green Bay Packers and one of his receivers was Davante Adams.

Adams played collegiately at Fresno State where Johnson followed him. They were never teammates but they knew each other. Johnson actually broke Adams’ record there.

That’s where the connection between Johnson and Raih begins. Johnson told reporters how the two met “randomly when he was coaching for Green Bay.”

“He was coaching Davante Adams,” Johnson recalled. “I was actually at his (Adams’) wedding and Coach Raih was his coach, so he was there. “We met at the wedding and had a brief conversation. It was a coincidence that he was the coach when I got to Arizona.”

Cardinals give vote of confidence to 2nd-year WRs by not drafting WR

Kingsbury: “We’re excited to see how they take that next step in Year 2, so I would say that definitely had to do with how the draft went.”

The Arizona Cardinals did not draft any receivers this year, which was a surprise to many, considering the perceived quality of the draft class at the position. Many have said it was one of the deepest receiver class ever.

But the Cardinals used three draft picks a year ago to select receivers.

So was bypassing receivers in the draft a sort of vote of confidence in Andy Isabella, Hakeem Butler and KeeSean Johnson?

“Definitely,” said Kliff Kingsbury in a video call with reporters earlier this week. “We liked a lot of the receivers in the draft but we also like the guys that we took last year. We like how they progressed.”

The 2019 rookie receivers didn’t produce much. Butler spent the year on injured reserve. Isabella had nine catches and Johnson had 21.

Kingsbury expects them to produce more in 2020.

“It was tough getting on the field because we had some guys that were playing really well, but we’re excited to see how they take that next step in Year 2,” he said. “So I would say that definitely had to do with how the draft went.”

They did acquire DeAndre Hopkins using their second-pick, so it isn’t as if the Cardinals completely ignored the position. They added a star. They just didn’t add more young receivers.

2020 will be a big season for the three second-year players. It will again be tough to get on the field, as Hopkins, Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk are the top three wideouts on the team.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Sub scribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep. 267

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Ep. 266

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Kliff Kingsbury anticipating ‘big jump’ from young receivers in 2020

“With an entire offseason in our offense, I expect all three of those guys to have a much bigger impact next season.”

The Arizona Cardinals drafted three receivers last year, taking Andy Isabella in the second round, Hakeem Butler in the fourth round and KeeSean Johnson in the seventh round. None of them had big seasons.

Butler spent the year on injured reserve after injuring his hand late in the preseason. Johnson was impactful early on but was healthy and inactive for the final month of the season. Isabella saw very little playing time early, made a couple of big plays and saw limited work in the second half of the season.

The trio combined for 30 receptions and two touchdowns.

Moving forward, head coach Kliff Kingsbury believes they will be much better in 2020.

“They had their moments, they had some rookie moments as well,” Kingsbury said at the combine. “We expect to see a big jump with the quarterback year 2. With an entire offseason in our offense, I expect all three of those guys to have a much bigger impact next season.”

Isabella’s lack of production was the most disappointing of the three. Kingsbury blamed himself for that.

“We moved him around a lot last year and I think it slowed his development a little bit and we’ll make sure we do a better job this season with him,” he said.

The team tried to have him become a slot receiver last year. He won’t necessarily be forced into that role this coming season.

“He has enough speed, in college, he played inside and outside,” he said. “It’s more about finding a role that we like for him and sticking with it.”

The Cardinals return Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk. The three 2019 picks return. The Cardinals might draft a new receiver in the first round. If that is the case, the offseason, training camp and the preseason will be fun to watch because the receiver room should be very competitive.

Last year, wide receiver was a position of weakness. Maybe it will be a position of strength in 2020.

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

Ep. 260

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Ep. 259

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4 2019 Cardinals rookies who need to fill larger roles in 2020

These players need to be counted on for more in 2020.

The Arizona Cardinals had two of their rookies play prominent roles in 2019. Quarterback Kyler Murray and cornerback Byron Murphy, the team’s two top picks in the draft, started every single game as rookies.

As we look ahead to 2020, a few of the 2019 rookies should see their roles increase.

WR Andy Isabella

While the team was not disappointed in him, he certainly was disappointing to fans, who were very excited about the prospect of someone with his frame and speed. He still has Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk ahead of him in the slot but he needs to be a much bigger part offense in his second year than he was.

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The many 2019 player disappointments for the Cardinals

There some bright spots, but there were nearly a dozen players who didn’t work out the way they were expected to.

The Arizona Cardinals had many bright spots to the 2019 season but there were a number of disappointments. Many players didn’t work out the way they should have.

Who are the disappointments of 2019?

DL Darius Philon

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Philon was a key free agent addition and looked impactful in a short time in training camp. However, he was arrested for allegedly threatening a woman with a gun and he was immediately released. He was supposed to be the best player on the defensive line.

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4 changes to Cardinals’ depth chart in Week 15

KeeSean Johnson has fallen in recent weeks and Haason Reddick has a position change.

The Arizona Cardinals released their latest depth chart for Week 15. It features a few changes. Some are because of injuries. Others are because of position changes and others have to be about performance.

What are the changes?

Caraun Reid to the starting lineup

Perhaps it is because he is a veteran player, but re-signed on Tuesday, Reid is listed as a starter. Rodney Gunter was placed on injured reserve. The backups are rookies Michael Dogbe and Miles Brown. Reid has yet to play a game for the Cardinals and he is listed as a starter.

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Studs and duds in the Cardinals’ 36-26 loss to the 49ers

Jordan Hicks was fantastic. David Johnson was MIA.

The Arizona Cardinals had players who stood out and some who had performances to forget in their 36-26 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Who were the studs and duds in the loss?

Stud: LB Jordan Hicks

Hicks certainly did his part in the game. He had one of his best games with the Cardinals. With his first tackle of the game, he reached 100 for the season, the first time he has done that in his career. He filled the stat sheet. He finished with 13 tackles, two for loss. He had a sack. He picked off a pass and was credited with a pass breakup. He also had two other hits on 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

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