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Cardinals players react to initial 53-man roster

Cardinals wide receiver Xavier Weaver during their preseason game against the New Orleans Saints.

The Arizona Cardinals finalized their initial 53-man roster Tuesday and various players reacted to making the team.

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Perhaps the biggest winner on offense was undrafted Colorado rookie WR Xavier Weaver, who made the team after a very strong training camp and preseason. The suspension of Zay Jones opened up an roster spot, which was granted to Weaver, who led Colorado with 908 receiving yards last season. He will join rookie Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson, Greg Dortch, Zach Pascal, and Chris Moore in the receiving corps.

“Blessed!” Weaver posted on X.

Another player who was rewarded for a strong training camp and preseason was safety Darren Hall, who spent last season on the Indianapolis Colts practice squad after playing 17 games with the Atlanta Falcons in 2022. Hall was originally a fourth-round pick by Atlanta in 2021 out of San Diego State. He led Arizona with 17 tackles in the preseason and made his presence felt by flying all over the field.

“God is the greatest,” Hall posted on his Instagram story.

Arizona chose to keep five safeties on the roster with Hall, Joey Blount and rookie Dadrion Taylor-Demerson backing up the star tandem of Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson.

“Let’s work! God is Great,” said Blount, who played in 11 games with Arizona last season, on his Instagram story.

At running back, the Cardinals are led by James Conner, who will be backed up by rookie Trey Benson, Emari Demercado and DeeJay Dallas. Michael Carter was a surprise cut at this position group.

Demercado will begin his second year with the team after originally joining as a undrafted free agent out of TCU last season. He appeared in 16 games his rookie year, rushing for 284 yards and two touchdowns.

“Lets rock,” Demercado posted on Instagram.

One of the biggest question marks on the team was how the outside linebacker room would shape up after projected starter BJ Ojulari tore his ACL in training camp. The Cardinals decided to trade Cameron Thomas to the Kansas City Chiefs for a seventh-round pick and keep five others: Zaven Collins, Dennis Gardeck, Xavier Thomas, Victor Dimukeje and Jesse Luketa.

Xavier Thomas, a fifth-round round rookie out of Clemson, stood out in the preseason and could have a big impact his first year in the league.

“Now Lets Work,” Thomas posted on X.

Dimukeje has stuck with the Cardinals for four years now after originally being selected in by Arizona in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Duke. He has appeared in 44 games over his first three seasons.

“Blessings,” Dimukeje posted on Instagram story.

Luketa will enter his third year in the NFL after being drafted by the Cardinals in the seventh round out of Penn State in 2022.

At the other linebacker group on the team, Arizona decided to go with only three inside linebackers on the initial roster. Kyzir White and free-agent addition Mack Wilson are the presumed starters of the group, while Owen Pappoe will back them up. Krys Barnes was a surprise cut from this position group after playing in 16 games with the team last season and recording 55 tackles.

White will look to be one of the leaders on defense in his second year in the desert after having a career year cut short due to a bicep tear last season. Despite missing the final six games with the injury, White still led the Cardinals with 90 tackles on the year and could make even more of an impact in 2024.

At the same time as final cuts were announced, the Cardinals also placed first-round rookie Darius Robinson on injured reserve (eligible to return after Week 4) after he suffered a calf injury in practice last week. Robinson was expected to get major playing time in a pretty deep group that is officially rounded out by Bilal Nichols, Justin Jones, Roy Lopez, Khyiris Tonga, L.J. Collier and Dante Stills.

“Charge it to the game! A bit of adversity never hurt anyone,” Robinson said of his injury on his Instagram story.

Elsewhere on defense, the Cardinals will look to be much stronger at the cornerback position, which will officially feature Sean Murphy-Bunting, Garrett Williams, rookie Max Melton, Starling Thomas V, rookie Elijah Jones and Kei’Trel Clark.

Williams and Thomas are ready for their second NFL seasons with the Cardinals:

Overall, all of these players seem locked in on the season now that they have officially made the team and will gear up for Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 8.

See the Cardinals’ full initial roster below:

A look at the Cardinals initial 53-man roster

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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau

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