7 Biggest Takeaways From the Cardinals’ 53-Man Roster

The Arizona Cardinals' initial 53-man roster is set.

After so many weeks of debate on what Mike LaFleur's first iteration of the Cardinals will look like, the dust officially begins to settle on what Arizona's 2026 squad will look like.

In reality, the roster is far from set. There's bound to be changes as early as Monday while injuries and other transactions will see the bottom of the depth chart constantly churning names.

Listed in no particular order, here's our biggest takeaways:

Only Keeping Three Running Backs Was Surprising

The Cardinals will enter the regular season with Jeremiyah Love, Tyler Allgeier and Bam Knight in the running back room while James Conner hits injured reserve.

Conner will miss the first four games but is eligible to return in 2026. He hadn't practiced recently and didn't play in any preseason games. Ultimately, his foot/ankle injury suffered in Week 3 will keep him out for an entire calendar year.

The Cardinals appear to be exercising caution with Conner, though Love appears to be shaping up to be ready for Week 1, or Week 2 at the latest.

With how often Arizona wants to run the ball, there was some thought the Cardinals would carry four running backs on the initial roster. Evan Hull shined in the team's preseason finale vs. Green Bay, though that obviously wasn't enough.

Seven Receivers???????

That's right, seven question marks for seven receivers — because we're dramatic.

Most teams opt to keep five or six receivers on their roster. Given how often Arizona wants to roll out multi-tight end sets (12/13 personnel, more on that in a minute), rostering that many receivers came as a bit of a surprise. They're one of only a handful of NFL teams to roster that many.

However, we can't say the guys who made it aren't undeserving. Simi Fehoko is shaping up to be a key special teams player while Jalen Brooks' noise during the preseason was simply too loud to ignore.

We thought maybe the Cardinals would bank on a talented WR slipping through the cracks to add to the practice squad. It looks like Arizona didn't want to take any chances.

Cardinals Weren't Confident in Tip Reiman's Health

In June, LaFleur was confident tight end Tip Reiman would be ready for training camp. Now, after staying on PUP all throughout preseason, he lands on PUP/reserve and will miss the first four games of the season — at least.

Arizona's tight end depth is fairly solidified with a healthy Reiman. Trey McBride is... well, one of the best tight ends in all of football. Elijah Higgins is TE2 and prominently a pass-catching option for the Cardinals while Reiman is their best in-line blocker.

Reiman's absence opened the door for Teagan Quitoriano or Rivaldo Fairweather to potentially make the team. After watching both the last month, the Cardinals came to the conclusion they needed to trade for Jaguars tight end Hunter Long hours before final roster cuts were due.

The deal wasn't for much — just Long and a seventh-round pick heading to the desert for a sixth-round pick — though Arizona clearly wanted to bolster their run-blocking prowess in the room.

Reiman effectively has six weeks to heal before playing his next game. Hopefully he'll be ready by then.

Arizona Made Unfortunate But Correct Call With Eku Leota Over BJ Ojulari

This wasn't an easy decision, especially with Ojulari's buzzer-beater performance in Green Bay that saw him reach the quarterback for 1.5 sacks.

However, it was a move that needed to be done.

Ojulari hasn't been the same since suffering a massive knee injury after his rookie season. It took him nearly two years to recover, and his ability to impact the passer hasn't been on par since.

In a Cardinals' OLB room featuring Josh Sweat and little help after, the team needed somebody to step up. That was Leota, who made it fairly clear who the better outside linebacker was through camp practices and preseason play alike.

Ojulari hopefully will bounce back elsewhere — but his time simply ran out.

Karson Sharar's Special Teams Made The Difference

There's not much certainty when it comes to piecing together an NFL roster, though the Cardinals keeping five total inside linebackers felt like a stretch.

Owen Pappoe and Karson Sharar were locked into a camp battle, with Sharar needing to earn his role after entering the desert as an undersized, late-round draft pick.

That's exactly what happened.

Sharar made numerous plays while carrying special teams duties in live action. After the Cardinals lost ace Joey Blount for the season, special teams play was imperative for any stragglers near the bottom of the depth chart.

Not that Pappoe couldn't play that phase of the ball, because he did, though Sharar simply shined — and that made the difference.

Cardinals Are Very Confident Garrett Williams is Good to Go

Sean Murphy-Bunting was a surprising restructure candidate earlier this offseason, especially after his prior struggles playing corner and rehab from an ACL injury that kept him out for all of 2025. However, the veteran corner came back and was moved from the boundary to the slot.

That was key, and ultimately what looks like the lone reason the Cardinals kept him around.

Typical slot cornerback Garrett Williams went on injured reserve at the end of last season with an Achilles injury, which put his early season availability for 2026 heavily in doubt. Arizona moved Murphy-Bunting inside while Williams recovered.

As fate would have it, Williams bounced back incredibly quick — being activated off the PUP list before the end of preseason — and Murphy-Bunting's departure shows the Cardinals are incredibly confident Williams is ready to go for this season.

Dadrion Taylor-Demerson Likely to Miss Some Time

Taylor-Demerson suffered a rib injury against the Dallas Cowboys during preseason play, which has sidelined him since. He didn't play in Green Bay, though neither did 39 other Cardinals with it being the finale.

The Cardinals used both of their injured reserve slots with a designation to return on Conner and defensive lineman Zach Carter. Taylor-Demerson might not be out long-term with his injury, though it's possible he'll miss a game or two.

Insert: Wydett Williams.

Williams was perhaps one of the more surprising names who cracked the initial 53. Rumors of him going back to college aside, the Cardinals' safety room was fairly established in terms of depth.

However, with Taylor-Demerson's injury, the Cardinals opted to carry a fifth safety on the roster to hold the room over until further notice.