The Arizona Cardinals and the rest of the NFL will have to get their rosters down to 53 players by Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m. Arizona time. Between now and then, they will have to make some tough roster decisions.
Which ones will be the hardest?
Below are some of the decisions that will be tough to make.
Keep 2 or 3 QBs on the roster?
Clayton Tune appears to have beaten out Desmond Ridder for the backup quarterback job. But will the Cardinals keep or cut Ridder and try to get him on the practice squad?
The danger is losing him completely. And if Ridder remains in concussion protocol on Tuesday, they will have to keep him.
Keeping 4 or 5 RBs
James Conner, Trey Benson, Emari Demercado and DeeJay Dallas seem to be locks for the roster. Conner is the starter. Benson is the young draft pick. Demercado is a third-down back and special teams guy. Dallas has guaranteed money this year and is a very good returner.
That leaves Michael Carter as the odd man out, but he did nothing but produce when given opportunities.
Could they keep five backs? But if they keep five, then they have to short another position.
Darius Robinson to IR or not?
This might not be as difficult as it could be. If he clearly needs about six weeks to recover from his calf strain, then IR makes sense. He would have to miss four games.
But if he can be back after missing only one or two games, would they rather carry an extra defensive lineman to get him healthy?
Who is safety No. 4?
Assuming they don’t go with only three and figure things out with the practice squad, the Cardinals will have a tough decision with their fourth safety. Budda Baker, Jalen Thompson and fourth-round pick Dadrion Taylor-Demerson are locks. Andre Chachere has been in the defensive system multiple years. Joey Blount is a stud on special teams. Darren Hall played the best of the group in the preseason and gives safety/nickel versatility.
How many CBs can they keep?
The starters are Sean Murphy-Bunting, Garrett Williams and Starling Thomas. Max Melton is a second-round pick. Elijah Jones is a third-round pick. Kei’Trel Clark played well and is a favorite of Jonathan Gannon. Can they keep all six?