Cardinals Final 53-Man Roster Prediction: Does James Conner Make the Cut?

ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals will be trimming their roster nearly in half come Sunday.

All that stands between general manager Monti Ossenfort and establishing a 53-man roster is Friday's preseason battle against the Green Bay Packers — and a few days of evaluation.

For now, here's our best shot at the 53-man roster:

QB: Jacoby Brissett, Gardner Minshew, Carson Beck

The Cardinals, unless a trade involving Gardner Minshew arises, will be forced to keep three quarterbacks on their active roster to begin the season. It would be a bit of a surprise to see that number remain through the end of the regular season.

RB: Jeremiyah Love, Tyler Allgeier, James Conner, Bam Knight

This was a tough decision to keep four, though with Arizona's intention to run the ball early and often under LaFleur, the organization keeps Knight in case of injury and special teams prowess. This decision is made easier thanks to Trey Benson's move to IR.

WR: Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson, Kendrick Bourne, Devin Duvernay, Reggie Virgil

Jalen Brooks or Ihmir Smith-Marsette could slot into a sixth spot here, though one (if not both) could clear waivers and be brought back to the practice squad. Duvernay's value as a returner solidified his roster spot while Virgil showed promise as a fifth-round rookie.

TE: Trey McBride, Elijah Higgins, Teagan Quitoriano, Rivaldo Fairweather

It's very possible Tip Reiman starts on Reserve/PUP to begin the season, as it doesn't appear he's close to returning. If that's the case, Arizona still rolls with a deep tight end room with plenty of 12 and 13 personnel on the horizon.

OL: Paris Johnson Jr., Isaac Seumalo, Hjalte Froholdt, Isaiah Adams, Elijah Wilkinson, Jon Gaines, Josh Fryar, Jayden Williams, Hayden Conner

The expected starting five is here with a mix of guards/tackles behind them. Oli Udoh or Matt Pryor could sneak in here, though we feel good about two backups each for interior and exterior offensive line spots. Gaines' versatility to also play center is key.

DL: Walter Nolen III, Roy Lopez, Darius Robinson, Dante Stills, Andrew Billings, L.J. Collier

This feels like a fairly light defensive line room, as Nick Rallis loves to rotate his front during games. However, outside of these six, it's tough to justify another talent in the room — especially with other positions requiring more roster spots.

OLB: Josh Sweat, Zaven Collins, Baron Browning, Jordan Burch, Eku Leota

This could qualify as the biggest surprise of the roster with no BJ Ojulari listed, though the veteran has been disappointing in camp/preseason while Leota has improved his stock enough to warrant the spot over Ojulari — especially with Sweat now back in the picture.

ILB: Mack Wilson Sr., Cody Simon, Jack Gibbens, Karson Sharar

The Cardinals could very well keep five inside linebackers, though Owen Pappoe loses out of the race to Sharar simply due to Sharar's status as a recent draft pick that's impressed on special teams.

CB: Will Johnson, Garrett Williams, Denzel Burke, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Max Melton, Starling Thomas

Williams' activation from PUP gives the Cardinals their slot corner back in the mix, which pushes a talented player out of the room. The last spot that Thomas occupies could very well go to somebody like Kei'Trel Clark, who previously started games in the desert.

S: Budda Baker, Andrew Wingard, Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, Kitan Crawford

With Joey Blount landing on injured reserve, the safety room now feels pretty comfortable in terms of identifying both depth and pecking order. The Cardinals seem to be comfortable with everybody here.

Specialists: Chad Ryland, Blake Gillikin, Casey Kreiter

No surprises here.

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