Aug 2, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon in the Red and White practice during training camp at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Arizona Cardinals Address Starters Playing vs Raiders

Originally posted on Arizona Cardinals on SI
By Donnie Druin | Last updated Aug 18, 2025 5:30 PM ET

Just one more exhibition game separates the Arizona Cardinals from the regular season, giving head coach Jonathan Gannon and his staff a final evaluation before the organization will trim its roster down to 53 players next week.

The Cardinals play host to the Las Vegas Raiders this coming Saturday at State Farm Stadium, and the status of starters playing in their Week 3 finale remains up in the air:

Arizona Cardinals Unsure if Starters Will Play in Preseason Finale

"We'll see. I want to see how this week goes, and then make a decision," Gannon told reporters on starters playing this Saturday.

The Cardinals played their starters for the first quarter of Week 1's preseason win over the Kansas City Chiefs while they didn't participate in the Week 2 loss against the Denver Broncos - mostly due to the joint practice held between the two sides last Thursday.

This preseason was the first Gannon and his staff committed to playing starters, as the last two years that wasn't the case for the Cardinals.

Gannon then dove into the different approaches teams will take when trying to prepare for the regular season while also evaluating their roster at the same time:

"There used to be four, right? I think. Man, that seems like a lot. That's a good question," said Gannon.

"With the starters playing and this and that, you think, 'Oh, well, you would never play your starters pre season [week] three if you don't play them in preseason [week] two. Not necessarily, guys do it different ways. It's just kind of the setup of camp.

"If you get to joint practice or not, home and away [games], when is week one? What's the health of your team? Who do you feel good about? If we sat down right now, how many roster spots we think are still available [plays a factor] I would say. How many [spots] aren't - different teams are all different. Different coaches have different ways of thinking about it.

"I don't think there's one right or wrong way to do it, and there's honestly pros and cons of however you do it. So the most important thing for us is maximizing today and this week as we move forward to get better as players and a football team and coaches and and be ready to play on Saturday."