Questions Cardinals Need to Answer as OTA's Begin

ARIZONA -- Good morning, and welcome to the first day of voluntary offseason team activities for the Arizona Cardinals.

Another brick of 2024's foundation will be laid today after rookie minicamp has previously come and gone.

The Cardinals did plenty of work to their roster over the offseason, but as voluntary OTA's begin and we inch closer to training camp, we still have some questions:

Any Talks With Stars in Last Year of Contract?

Both James Conner and Budda Baker are on the final year of their deals in the desert. Both are nearly 30 years of age, and both are one of the more respected players at their positions.

Baker's contract status has been more in the news thanks to his public trade request last season. The Cardinals shuffled some money around for Baker to get guarantees in 2023, but he has none in 2024. However, according to OverTheCap, he does have roughly $900,000 in potential bonuses with a prorated signing bonus of $3.925 million.

Meanwhile, Conner saw his potential replacement in Florida State running back Trey Benson taken on Day 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft. Conner is, however, coming off his best statistical season after finally reaching the 1,000-yard mark as a rusher.

It will be interesting to monitor the situations of both over the summer - will general manager Monti Ossenfort look to extend either key veteran? Or will Arizona let their contracts expire before looking for extension talks?

Conversations might (or should) be happening on both sides, we'll see if any resolutions are brought.

Who's the Guy at Left Guard?

Arizona has four of five starting spots along the offensive line secured, with left guard seemingly the only open avenue for players to fight for as the offseason continues.

There's a handful of candidates to ultimately take the crown - previously we chose returning vet Elijah Wilkinson as the front-runner in our offensive starter projections, though it feels like either free agent addition Evan Brown or rookie Isaiah Adams can make a push for the start.

Some have thrown out Jon Gaines as a possible candidate, though he's rebounding from a season-ending knee injury that prevented him from playing at all in 2023. The Cardinals certainly like him, though he's already facing an uphill battle.

Regardless, there's a handful of candidates that can get the job done. Who will put themselves ahead of the coming weeks?

Who Starts in the Slot?

No, not that slot, silly. Greg Dortch has been patient the last two seasons and finally gets his opportunity now that Rondale Moore is gone.

Flipping to the other side of the ball, we know at least one starting boundary corner in Sean Murphy-Bunting. The other remains to be seen, and so too does the slot corner spot and what the Cardinals want to do there.

There's a few candidates that are considered to be at the top of the list to play inside, most notably rookie Max Melton or second-year player Garrett Williams.

Melton - out of Rutgers - was heralded for his versatility entering the draft and can play inside/outside if needed.

Perhaps we already have our answer when looking at snap count logs from PFF, which show Williams primarily played in the slot last year while Melton didn't play any more than two slot snaps per week after Week 4 during his last season at Rutgers.

Violence and versatility are the two Jonathan Gannon calling cards - we'll see who is where when the dust eventually settles - but at least the organization has options.