GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals will start training camp at State Farm Stadium in Glendale in 7 days and 12Sports is helping you get ready by taking a closer look at who you will be seeing on the field.
We're starting by taking a closer look at the two groups that will be catching most of the passes thrown by Kyler Murray, the wide receivers and tight ends.
Wide Receivers
- DeAndre Hopkins: Hopkins is the Cardinals' best wide receiver, but they will be without him for the first six games of the season due to a drug suspension. Hopkins missed 7 games last season and the Cardinals went 3-4 without him. The Cardinals' scoring average also dropped 10.45 points from 30.2 to 19.75 when Hopkins was out. He caught 42 passes for 572 yards and 8 touchdowns in 2021-22.
- A.J. Green: Green is headed into his 11th season and 2nd in the Valley after being one of the Cardinals' top acquisitions in the 2021 offseason. In his first season in Arizona, Green played in 16 games, catching 54 passes for 848 yards and 3 touchdowns. Now that he's had a full offseason to work with Kyler Murray, we'll see if Green can get close to being the wide receiver that had 1,000+ receiving yards 6 times in Cincinnati. Green will also be one of the top wideouts that the Cardinals will need to step up when Hopkins is out early in the season.
- Marquise 'Hollywood' Brown: Brown is the top offseason acquisition that Cardinals General Manager Steve Keim made this offseason. The Cardinals got Brown in a draft-day trade on April 28. Brown, who was also Kyler Murray's college teammate at Oklahoma, is heading into his 4th NFL season. In three years in Baltimore, Brown played in 46 games and caught 195 passes for 2,361 yards and 21 touchdowns. 2021 was his best season as he caught 91 passes for 1,008 yards and 6 touchdowns.
- Rondale Moore: Moore is heading into his 2nd NFL season after being taken by the Cardinals in the 2nd round of the 2021 Draft. Moore caught 54 passes for 435 yards and 1 touchdown in his rookie season. He also ran the ball 18 times for 76 yards. Moore's best game of the season in 2021 came in Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings when he had 7 receptions for 114 yards and his lone touchdown, which, at 77 yards, was the Cardinals' longest play of the year.
- Greg Dortch: Dortch spent time bouncing between the Cardinals' practice squad and active roster last season. He played in 3 games and caught 3 passes for 15 yards and ran the ball once for 24 yards.
- Andy Isabella: Isabella is heading into his 4th NFL season after being taken by the Cardinals in the 2nd round in the 2019 Draft. He is mainly a special team player now, as he only had one catch for 13 yards in 2021-22.
- Antoine Wesley: Wesley was one of the breakout wide receivers for the Cardinals last season. He played in 15 games and caught 19 passes for 208 yards and 3 touchdowns. His best game came against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17 (4 catches, 30 yards, and 2 TDs). Wesley played for Cardinals' Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury at Texas Tech.
- Christian Blake: Blake is heading into his first training camp with the Cardinals and his 4th NFL season. The former Northern Illinois Husky spent the past three seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, appearing in 41 total games. He has 28 receptions for 257 yards in his career.
- Andre Baccellia: Baccellia, who played college football at Washington, has not appeared in an NFL game. He signed with Kansas City as an undrafted free agent in 2020 but was released and signed by New England. The Patriots released him and he later signed with the Cardinals in April 2021. He spent last season on the Cardinals' practice squad.
- JaVonta Payton: Payton signed with the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in May. He played two years of college football at Mississippi State and one at Tennessee. He played in 35 games and caught 46 passes for 785 yards and 7 touchdowns. He led the SEC with a 22.9 yards per catch average in 2021.
- Jared Smart: Smart is a rookie out of Hawaii and was signed by the Cardinals after rookie minicamp in May. He played in 36 games over the past three seasons with the Rainbow Warriors where he had 149 receptions for 1,863 yards and 8 touchdowns.
- Jontre Kirklin: Kirklin, who played his college football at LSU, was another undrafted free agent signing by the Cardinals. He played for the Tigers for 5 years as a wide receiver, quarterback, and defensive back. He had 20 catches for 313 yards and 3 TDs with the Tigers. He also started as quarterback for LSU in the 2022 Texas Bowl against Kansas State.
Tight Ends
- Zach Ertz: Ertz came to the Cardinals in a mid-season trade with the Philadelphia Eagles last season. He is heading into his 10th season in the NFL. Last year, Ertz caught 74 passes for 763 yards and 5 touchdowns. In his 11 games in Arizona, Ertz caught 56 passes for 574 yards and 3 TDs. He was set to become a free agent this offseason but signed a 3-year, $31.65 million deal with the Cardinals before free agency began.
- Trey McBride: The rookie out of Colorado State was the Mackey Award winner as the top tight end in the nation last season. He was also a unanimous 1st-team All-American and the 2021-22 Mountain West Conference Male Athlete of the Year. He had 90 catches for 1,121 yards and a touchdown for the Rams in 2021. In his four seasons in Fort Collins, McBride caught 164 passes for 2,100 yards and 10 touchdowns. The Cardinals selected McBride with the 55th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
- Maxx Williams: Williams is heading into his 8th NFL season and his 4th with the Cardinals. He played in 5 games in 2021 before his season was cut short by an ACL injury. He will likely start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list. Williams became a fan favorite on social media after his injury, even creating his own 'To the Maxx' game MVP award that he would give to a teammate. He re-signed with the Cardinals on a 1-year contract in March.
- Stephen Anderson: Anderson is heading into his 6th NFL season and first with the Cardinals. He played two seasons with the Houston Texans and three with the L.A. Chargers before coming to the Valley as a free agent in April. He has played in 62 games and has 60 catches for 706 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also spent time on the Patriots practice squad in 2018 and 2019.
- Chris Pierce Jr.: Pierce Jr. signed with the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in May. He played college football at Vanderbilt, where he played 55 games over five seasons. He had 109 receptions for 1,398 yards and 9 touchdowns.
- Bernhard Seikovits: 'Seiko' hails from Austria and was been with the Cardinals since 2021 when he was signed to the team through the NFL's International Player Pathway Program. He spent last season on the practice squad and signed a futures contract in January. He is the captain of Austria's national football team.
- David Wells: Wells is heading into his 2nd season with the Cardinals after spending most of last year on the practice squad. He has spent most of his career bouncing around the NFL on practice squads (Dallas, Kansas City, New England, Atlanta, Indianapolis). He played in the Cardinals' Week 9 game at San Francisco last season, but did not record a catch and was placed on injured reserve the next week.
- Deon Yelder: Yelder is heading into his first season with the Cardinals and 5th in the NFL. He signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He played in 26 games over 3 seasons with Kansas City and had 10 catches for 86 yards. He played for Tampa Bay and the New York Giants last year.
The Cardinals will open their 2022 Training Camp at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on July 26th. There will be 10 practices open to the public. The 1st of which will be on July 30. Parking and admission are free, but digital tickets will be required.