Cardinals Camp Takeaways: Position Battle Won

Michael Wilson suffered a scary hit to the head nearly a week ago and has been in concussion protocol since.

Wilson showed some great signs of progress today, returning to the practice field donning the league's yellow non-contact jersey.

While Wilson didn't participate in team drills, he did go through individual/positional work and even fielded punts (not live) during the special teams portions.

Wilson is probably a stretch to play on Saturday alongside Arizona's other starters, though it was good to see him back on the field.

Wilson provides Kyler Murray with a reliable, big frame to haul in contested catches. He'll be needed if the Cardinals want to reach the next level offensively.

Zay Jones Cements WR3 Status

The Cardinals didn't have many prominent position battles to monitor once training camp began - though the spot between Greg Dortch and Zay Jones for WR3 in Arizona's offense was indeed one.

That gap continues to grow between Jones and Dortch, and with camp's last practice tomorrow - Jones has firmly entrenched himself as the third wideout behind Marvin Harrison Jr. and Wilson.

Jones got off to a slow start last season thanks to his suspension and never truly got settled in Drew Petzing's offense.

This year, it's a different tune.

Jones was listed as the team's WR3 on their first official depth chart, and Jones continues to impress - today it was blowing past Will Johnson during 1v1 drills and making an incredible catch down the sideline during team activities, which you can be the judge on if he actually came down with possession.

Jones has dominated reps with the first team for most of camp, and today was no different.

You can consider that position battle, over.

Josh Sweat Not Fully Practicing

Josh Sweat - Arizona's premier free agent signing this offseason - was fully dressed for practice and worked through position/individual drills, though he was not spotted during team drills today.

That could merely be a precaution with their preseason opener in just a few days. Teams don't have to disclose injury statuses during camp/preseason, so we likely won't know until after Saturday night's game if Sweat is dealing with anything and if it's serious.

Considering Sweat was fully dressed, it likely isn't - but noteworthy nonetheless.

Other Notes

• It was cool to see Xavier Weaver get some work with the first team offense today. His hype train has mostly been fan-driven, though he's bound to see plenty of reps this preseason. Travis Vokolek also got some run with the one's on that side of the ball.
• Defensively, the Cardinals' first team front really created chaos. Countless times against different levels of the depth chart, Arizona's pass rush got home and really impacted the play.
• To absolutely no surprise, Budda Baker was a demon numerous times and blew things up in the backfield.
• Josh Fryar, Darius Robinson and Xavier Thomas particularly looked good during OL/DL one-on-one drills.
• Jon Gaines was spotted with a cast on his right (snapping) hand. He took first team reps with the Cardinals offense during the Red and White scrimmage but quickly left. He was not dressed today.