Wednesday will be another day off for the Arizona Cardinals following a Tuesday that saw the first injury of training camp occur and head coach Jonathan Gannon denies that it feels like Groundhog Day. At least to him.
Here are my observations:
Down goes Hjalte
It was inevitable that the Arizona Cardinals would experience their first injury in training camp and the shoe dropped Tuesday when center Hjalte Froholdt went down after being rolled up on from behind late in practice during red-zone work.
Trainers appeared to be tending to his leg or knee and after a few minutes he was helped up and left the field under his own power. He walked slowly, but didn’t appear to be laboring.
Later, Craig Morgan of phnx.com tweeted, “I randomly saw Froholdt walking out of the stadium. He was walking just fine on his own; nothing on his leg.”
The team has a day off Wednesday, so the next availability with Gannon will be prior to practice on Thursday. Odds are, a slong as the injury isn’t serious, Gannon will call it a “nick.”
After Froholdt departed, left guard Evan Brown slid to center and rookie Isaiah Adams came in at left guard. In a later set of downs, it was Jon Gaines II at left guard.
Practice highlights
Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. made a superb catch at the back of the red zone on the right side despite pass interference by cornerback Garrett Williams. … Tight end Trey McBride had a nice back-shoulder catch from Kyler Murray on the right sideline after making an adjustment for the ball. … Free-agent wide receiver Xavier Weaver continues to be stand out. He had an excellent leaping catch on a throw from Clayton Tune and then a reception on a deep throw. … In one-on-drills, right tackle Jonah Williams was beaten by pass rushers Dennis Gardeck and BJ Ojulari.
Linebacker Owen Pappoe had an interception off Tune in the red zone on a pass intended for tight end Tip Reiman, but Tune rebounded with a touchdown pass in the same area to receiver Zach Pascal. … Wide receiver Greg Dortch made a fine grab on a pass from Murray, who threaded the ball between Williams and safety Jalen Thompson. Dortch also drew cheers from the crowd when he retained possession of four consecutive punts, but there were groans when he couldn’t handle a fifth.
The tedium of camp
Gannon began his media briefing Tuesday by saying, “It feels like it was Day 1 like 13 seconds ago and we’re already at Day 6, so it goes fast. We gotta maximize our time.”
Asked if it’s like Groundhog Day, he said, “No, maybe for the players. But no, not for me, because every day is a new day and an opportunity to get better.”
Gannon talked more about the three days on, one day off schedule, which it should be noted there are no meetings or even walk-throughs. The players are off entirely except those that need treatment.
Saying part of it was to have “adaptation of what we do during the year” in the regular season, Gannon added that the state of the team this year compared to in 2023 was the main impetus.
“What we got with changing the schedule was more high-speed reps, more walk-through reps,” he said. “One more rest day so kinda push the envelope on development, but that’s always in flux. So, all three things gotta be balanced. They’re doing a good job with it though. They’re going to start to get pretty sore here pretty soon.”
Demercado being noticed
Despite all the hype over third-round pick Trey Benson, second-year running back Emari Demercado has been getting significant reps with the first team when James Conner isn’t on the field. He made the team last year as an undrafted free agent.
Gannon said Tuesday, “He feels like he has some juice in there. In February, I said you need to; let’s get going, get in shape here. I might have called him pudgy. But he looks good. He’s rocked up. He looks explosive. And second year in the system, he’s probably playing a little faster mentally. But he’s a talented runner. He had a good run yesterday. Instinctive.
“Does what he’s coached to do and then kind of lets instincts take over and make a play. But he’s really good on third down. I mean, really good on third down. He’s very smart. He’s big enough and has enough toughness to step up in a gap and stone somebody. That’s a luxury especially for a rookie back to be able to do that. So he wears a lot of different hats. He’s gonna factor on fourth down (special teams). He’s doing a good job.”
Demercado chuckled when told what Gannon said about being “pudgy” because he had a legit explanation. The coach made the comment right after he returned from a week’s vacation in Hawaii.
Demercado said, “I had just got back from Hawaii. It is what it is, but now I’m in shape, so everything’s good.”
As for his confidence in Year 2, Demercado said, “I’m a lot more comfortable with the playbook, more familiar with my role. Just being able to know what’s expected of me. The first year, your head is kinda spinning. You’re just trying to keep up. It’s a lot more fun to be able to know what I’m doing.”
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