The Arizona Cardinals enter 2023 with a lot of uncertainty. They don’t know when quarterback Kyler Murray will be back from his knee injury. They have a general manager, head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator who have never held those positions previously.
They have turned the roster into a young one, as only six players out of 89 are at least 30 years old.
A number of positions do not have a clear starter.
At quarterback, there is no question the starter is Murray when he is healthy. James Conner is the starting running back. Zach Ertz and Trey McBride are the top tight ends. Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson are the starting safeties.
However, a number of positions are uncertain because of an expected position battle or simply because we don’t know who the starter will be at all.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
Left guard
This position simply doesn’t have a known starter yet.
Will it be Josh Jones? What about first-round pick Paris Johnson? It could be free agent additions Dennis Daley or Eelijah Wilkinson. Maybe second-year players Lecitus Smith and Marquis Hayes will be in the mix.
Right now, we don’t know.
Center
The Cardinals signed Hjalte Froholdt in the offseason. He is the only player on the roster to play center in an NFL regular-season game, but rookie Jon Gaines could battle for the job. Lecitus Smith practiced there last year and Hayden Howerton played it in college.
Who knows? It could also be a free agent they sign later.
Right tackle
Here we likely have a legitimate position battle between Kelvin Beachum, the veteran who has started at right tackle for the Cardinals for the last three seasons and re-signed this offseason, and Paris Johnson, the Cardinals’ first-round pick.
The entire defensive line
The entire defensive line is a bunch of guys without much proven experience.
The only player with any real proven production is Carlos Watkins.
The other guys — Leki Fotu, Rashard Lawrence, Jonathan Ledbetter, Kevin Strong, Ben Stille, L.J. Collier, Eric Banks, Dante Stills, Jacob Slade — are either inexperienced or haven’t really done anything yet in the NFL.
Outside linebacker
There is youth here.
Cameron Thomas and Myjai Sanders enter Year 2. B.J. Ojulari is a rookie. Maybe Zaven Collins plays there this year.
Cornerback
Two starters from last season — Marco Wilson and Antonio Hamilton — are back. But we don’t know if they are the plan there. They added Rashad Fenton and Kris Boyd in free agency and they drafted Garrett Williams and Kei’Trel Clark.
All three starting jobs (two outside and one slot) will likely be up for grabs.
Long snapper
Right now, the two long snappers on the roster are an undrafted rookie (Matt Hembrough) and a guy with one game of NFL experience (Joe Fortunato).
