GLENDALE, Ariz. — Congratulations football fans, you have officially made it to the end of the offseason! The Arizona Cardinals have reported to training camp. The players are staying at the Wigwam in Litchfield Park and will travel over to State Farm Stadium for practice starting tomorrow!
The Cardinals took part in media day Tuesday, giving fans another look at those new uniforms that were unveiled back in April.
And in great news, Budda Baker did report to camp (as 12Sports reported he would in May) and we saw Kyler Murray in uniform, posing for pictures with Hollywood Brown.
And to help you get ready for training camp, we're continuing to take a closer look at all of the players you will see on the field. Today, we have a look at the Cardinals' inside and outside linebackers, starting on the inside.
First up is a new name to Cardinal fans, Kyzir White. However, this is a name that fans should expect to hear a lot this upcoming season.
The Cardinals have moved Zaven Collins to outside linebacker, and White could be the man quarterbacking head coach Jonathan Gannon and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis' defense at middle linebacker.
White is very familiar with Gannon and Rallis as he followed them to the Valley from Philadelphia and was a member of last year's NFC Champions.
White is heading into his sixth NFL season. He was selected in the 4th round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the L.A. Chargers and spent four years in L.A. before signing with Philadelphia.
White started only 8 games last year from the Eagles but saw a lot of playing time, totaling 110 tackles. In last October's matchup against Arizona, White had six tackles.
In 64 games, White has 388 tackles, three sacks, 17 passes defended, 4 interceptions, and 4 forced fumbles.
White will be wearing #7.
White's stats in 2022-23 (with Philadelphia): 17 games played (8 starts), 110 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 7 passes defended
Pappoe is also heading into his first season with the Cardinals after being selected in the 5th round of this year's NFL Draft out of Auburn.
Pappoe started 41 games over four years with the Tigers and was a two-time team captain (one of only four players to ever earn that title more than once).
During his career, Pappoe had 256 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, eight sacks, two interceptions, nine passes defended, three forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery.
Pappoe was named a Butkus Award (college football's best linebacker) semifinalist and was named to the All-SEC third team.
Pappoe will be wearing #44.
Pappoe's stats in 2022-23 (with Auburn): 12 games played, 91 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 interception, 4 passes defended, two forced fumbles
Turner is back for his sixth year with the Cardinals. Originally signed in 2018 as an undrafted free agent, Turner has played in 64 games for Arizona over his career.
Much of his playing time has come on special teams and Turner led the NFL with 13 solo tackles on special teams in 2018. If Turner can impress the new coaching staff during camp, Turner could earn more snaps on defense.
Turner has found his way into the starting lineup twice during his first five seasons. He has made 63 tackles and forced one fumble during his career.
Turner will be wearing #47.
Turner's stats in 2022-23: 15 games (1 start), 22 tackles, 1 forced fumble
Woods is another new addition to the Cardinals' linebacker corps and could be in line to take a role on special teams.
That was his role last year with the Detroit Lions, where he was named special teams captain at the start of last season.
He only played 10 snaps for the Lions on defense in 2022-23.
The former Maryland Terrapin originally broke into the NFL with the Chicago Bears in 2018, signing after a veteran minicamp tryout. He was a practice squad member that season, but earned a spot on the Bears' 53-man roster in 2019, which is when he made his NFL debut. Woods spent three more years in Chicago before signing with Detroit, where he played for two years.
Woods will be wearing #51.
Woods' stats in 2022-23 (with Detroit): 17 games played (0 starts), 14 tackles
Soelle is a name that should be familiar to football fans here in the Valley.
The former Notre Dame Prep Saint, Saguaro Sabercat, and ASU Sun Devil is getting a shot at playing for his hometown team after signing as an undrafted free agent in May.
At rookie minicamp, Soelle said that it was a "dream come true" and "a no-brainer" to sign with Arizona.
He follows the path from Saguaro to the Cardinals originally blazed by DJ Foster, Christian Kirk, and Byron Murphy Jr.
Soelle was a big part of the Sun Devil defense during the Herm Edwards era. Over the course of five seasons, Soelle played in 53 games, totaling 259 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, four sacks, four interceptions, 12 passes defended, and two forced fumbles.
Soelle will be wearing #58.
Soelle's stats in 2022-23 (at Arizona State): 11 games played (11 starts), 110 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, 4 passes defended
Another new name for Cardinal fans to know is fourth-year pro, Krys Barnes.
Barnes comes to Arizona after spending three years with the Green Bay Packers. He played in 29 games over his first two seasons but was limited to only six games in 2022 due to an ankle injury.
In his career, Barnes has made 190 tackles, gotten three sacks, knocked down four passes, forced one fumble, and recovered two fumbles.
Barnes will be wearing #56.
Barnes' stats in 2022-23 (with Green Bay): 6 games played (1 start), 29 tackles, 1 sack
Moving to outside linebacker now (where there are a lot of names fans will recognize), we start with Zaven Collins, who was the Cardinals' starting middle linebacker last year.
Collins, a first-round draft pick in 2021, looks to take on more of a pass-rushing role in Arizona's new system. The Cardinals have some big pass-rushing holes after the departure of Zach Allen (signed with Denver) and the retirement of J.J. Watt.
In his first two seasons, Collins has played in 33 games, made 125 tackles and two sacks, knocked down nine passes, grabbed one interception (which was returned for a touchdown), and forced one fumble.
In college at Tulsa, Collins won the Bronko Nagurski trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award, and the Lombardi Award in 2020. He was the runner-up for the Butkus Award that season.
Collins will wear #25.
Collins' stats in 2022-23: 16 games played (16 starts), 100 tackles, 2 sacks, 6 passes defended, 1 interception, 1 touchdown, 1 forced fumble
Returning for his sophomore season with the Cardinals is Sanders, who the Cardinals drafted in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Cincinnati.
Sanders served as a backup last year for Arizona but with the lack of returning pass rushers, he could see more playing time this year to build off a three-sack rookie campaign.
Sanders will wear #41.
Sanders' stats in 2022-23: 13 games (4 starts), 23 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 passes defended, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery
Also returning for his second season is the Cardinals' other 2022 third-round draft pick, Cameron Thomas.
Thomas also had a solid rookie campaign, spending much of it learning at J.J. Watt's side, as we saw on the in-season edition of HBO's Hard Knocks.
Thomas played in all 17 games of his rookie season and like Sanders, totaled three sacks. For the Cardinals to be successful this year, both he and Sanders will need their sack numbers to rise.
Thomas will wear #97.
Thomas' stats in 2022-23: 17 games played (0 starts), 18 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 pass defended
Dimukeje is another home-grown pass rusher for the Cardinals.
The former Duke Blue Devil was selected by the Cardinals in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft and has played in 28 games over his first two seasons.
Dimukeje, who is originally from Nigeria, has yet to record a sack and has seen playing time on both defense and special teams in his career.
Dimukeje will wear #52.
Dimukeje's stats in 2022-23: 14 games played (2 starts), 17 tackles
Gardeck has become a fan-favorite over the past few seasons in Arizona due to the passion he plays with.
Gardeck is back for his sixth season with Arizona. He originally signed with the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent out of Sioux Falls.
Gardeck has seen most of his playing time on special teams during his career but has also made an impact on defense with eight sacks, an interception, a forced fumble, and three fumble recoveries.
Gardeck is a two-time team captain and was named as an alternate to the 2019 Pro Bowl.
Gardeck will wear #45.
Gardeck's stats in 2022-23: 14 games played (3 starts), 31 tackles, 1 sack, 1 pass defended, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble
A seventh-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Luketa will look to make the Cardinals' roster in his second season.
The Ottawa, Ontario, Canada native appeared in seven games for the Cardinals in 2022 but did not record a sack.
And, fun fact, the city of Ottawa declared this past July 4th "Jesse Luketa Day" to honor one of the best football players in the city's history.
Luketa will wear #43.
Luketa's stats in 2022-23: 7 games, 3 tackles
And we wrap up today with Ojulari, who became the final member of the Cardinals' 2023 NFL Draft class to sign a contract when he signed on Monday.
The rookie out of LSU signed a four-year deal.
He was a first-team All-SEC selection in 2022 after finishing with 58 tackles, a career-high. He was also second on the team with 8.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, and 13 quarterback hurries. He was also named a team captain and wore #18, a number reserved for an LSU player who best represents what it means to be a Tiger.
Over the course of his college career, Ojulari played in 34 games (24 starts) and totaled 129 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, 16.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and two passes defended.
Ojulari will wear #18.
Ojulari's stats in 2022-23 (at LSU): 11 games played (11 starts), 58 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble
The Cardinals will practice for the first time in training camp on Wednesday and their first public practice will be on Thursday at State Farm Stadium.