6 Arizona Cardinals Who Could Be Cut After Camp

Training camp is around the corner, and that means NFL teams will soon face difficult decisions when it comes to trimming their rosters to just 53 players. There's around two months before then, with plenty of training camp action and preseason games to evaluate players, but it's worth noting who may be fighting for their spot on the team.

The Arizona Cardinals are off to a hot start in their rebuild under Jonathan Gannon and Monti Ossenfort. Instead of slowly building the team from the ground up, they're already in playoff contention entering year three.

That should be applauded, of course; however it means that unless you can contribute right now in a significant way, you're going to be in a constant battle to stay with the franchise.

Many players face this stigma, but I believe these six Cardinals will be fighting harder than anyone else to stay in the desert:

Justin Jones/Bilal Nichols

The Cardinals signed both Jones and Nichols a year ago and got a combined nine games and 14 tackles between the two of them. They each signed three-year deals worth over $31 million and $21 million respectively.

After such diminishing results, Arizona signed Calais Campbell and Dalvin Tomlinson in free agency, drafted Walter Nolen in the first round, re-signed LJ Collier, bring back Dante Stills for year three, signed Elijah Simmons as a UDFA, and will see the return of one of last's year's first round picks, Darius Robinson.

It's safe to say Jones and Nichols are both at risk of being cut, but don't count Collier out just yet, either.

Michael Carter

Carter was a decent surprise, all things considered, for the Cardinals last season, rushing for 131 yards on 35 carries in just three games played. Nothing substantial, but it was welcomed production. However, the Cardinals' running back depth chart is nothing to sneeze at.

James Conner was re-signed, and Trey Benson is entering his second season in the league. Emari DeMercado is signed through at least this season, and is likely Carter's biggest rival for making the roster. Carter doesn't necessarily stand out in any one area, which makes him a likely odd man out.

Zay Jones

I have been a proponent that Jones could rebound this season, but that doesn't mean his spot on the roster is safe -- quite the contrary, actually. The Cardinals brought in Jones last season despite a suspension and only got eight catches for 84 yards.

Although Arizona isn't stacked at wide receiver, they may decide it's better to allocate his roster spot elsewhere. Jones is up against Xavier Weaver, who went undrafted last year, and Bryson Green, who went undrafted this year. There's also Quez Watkins and Tejhaun Palmer to ward off.

Kei'Trel Clark

Unlike wide receiver, cornerback is an absolutely ridiculously stacked position group for the Cardinals. A guy like Clark has his work cut out for him to keep his spot in the desert thanks to the massive, annual investments at the position under the Monti Ossenfort era

Garrett Williams, Max Melton, and Starling Thomas V are your likely starters for week one with second round pick Will Johnson aiming for major playing time. That's not to mention rookie Denzel Burke this year, second-year men Elijah Jones and Jaden Davis, and free agent signee Jaylon Jones.

To say the least, that's an obnoxious amount of competition. Clark may get washed in the competition and find his way off the final 53-man roster.

Clayton Tune

Tune wasn't drafted to be the quarterback of the future as a day three pick in 2023, but there was hope he could be a serviceable backup for the team. That hasn't been remotely true and it's surprising he hasn't been cut already. However, with the Cardinals looking to make the playoffs this season, it doesn't make much sense to hold onto three quarterbacks -- especially one as ineffective as Tune.

Arizona signed Jacoby Brissett in free agency, and he's pretty much the guy for veteran, backup quarterbacks. That may be the final nail in the coffin that puts Tune out of a job with the Cardinals.