Arizona Cardinals 2026 Practice Squad, Waiver Tracker

ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals are now off to the races in assembling their roster ahead of the 2026 regular season. Sunday brought the initial 53-man roster while Monday will see waivers and practice squads begin to fill out.

The Cardinals didn't claim anybody off waivers, though they did fill all but three of their practice squad seats today:

Initial Cardinals 2026 Practice Squad List

Linebacker Eugene Asante

Tight end Shawn Bowman

Defensive lineman Cam Horsley

Running back Evan Hull

Offensive lineman Demontrey Jacobs

Cornerback Kalen King

Offensive lineman Matt Pryor

Tight end Teagan Quitoriano

Linebacker Cameron Robertson

Wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette

Cornerback Starling Thomas V

Wide receiver Harrison Wallace III

Defensive lineman Damonic Williams

offensive lineman Valentin Senn (IPP)

Now that waivers have come and gone, the Cardinals are free to sign all eligible free agents to their practice squad ahead of 2026 — with a few caveats.

NFL teams are allowed up to 16 players on the practice squad with a potential 17th player, so long as that person is from the league's international pathway program. At least ten players on Arizona's practice squad have to be rookies or second-year players. The other six can have unlimited experience.

All of the aforementioned players previously played for Arizona this summer. The Cardinals may use their remaining three spots on outside faces dropped by other teams.

It's interesting to note that BJ Ojulari and Sean Murphy-Bunting, two of Arizona's biggest names released this past weekend, were not brought back after both cleared waivers.

Sean Murphy-Bunting Finds a New Home

Murphy-Bunting is rejoining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

Reunion: Veteran corner Sean Murphy-Bunting is signing to the Bucs practice squad with the chance to elevate to 53 early in year, per source.

Murphy-Bunting, Tampa’s second round pick in 2019, was released last week by Arizona, which owes him $2M in guarantees. pic.twitter.com/9oGC0YlFCn
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) August 31, 2026

Murphy-Bunting was one of the more interesting cuts of the day given his experience compared to the rest of Arizona's cornerback room. Even more noticable was only five cornerbacks cracked the initial 53-man roster for the Cardinals.

Murphy-Bunting moves on to Tampa Bay, where he previously won a Super Bowl years ago. There was some anticipation of Murphy-Bunting returning on the practice squad, though after he cleared waivers it felt obvious he was wanting to start anew elsewhere.

Cardinals Make First Practice Squad Move, Bring Back OT Matt Pryor

Pryor, a victim of roster cuts, is being brought back by the Cardinals to their practice squad according to reports.

Matt Pryor sticks with the #AZCardinals. The veteran OL is signing to the practice squad. https://t.co/TTA3J2MYKE
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 31, 2026

Pryor was a free agent veteran addition in the offseason with plenty of starts and playing experience under his belt. However, Arizona's crop of younger talent in the offensive line room were enough to impress the Cardinals over Pryor's body of work.

Owen Pappoe Claimed By Titans

The Tennessee Titans did claim former Cardinals linebacker Owen Pappoe, who saw Karson Sharar make Arizona's initial 53-man roster over him in the inside linebackers room.

He was a player we thought the Cardinals would have loved back on their practice squad. You can read more about that here.

Pappoe, a former draft pick by general manager Monti Ossenfort, was a quick player on the field but ultimately wasn't able to climb up Arizona's ILB depth chart for the last three seasons.

Cardinals Don't Claim Anybody Off Waivers

The Cardinals didn't claim anybody released on the waiver wire ahead of the 2026 season. It's important to note Arizona would have had to place any claimed bodies on the active 53-man roster.

That could be telling for one of two reasons: Either the waiver wire was truly that bad, or the Cardinals simply were confident in their own roster.

Cardinals Trim Roster Down to 53

The ball got rolling Sunday when the Cardinals introduced their initial 53-man roster, and while not permanent by any stretch, this will be the core of Arizona's team ahead of the 2026 season:

QB (3): Jacoby Brissett, Gardner Minshew, Carson Beck
RB (3): Jeremiyah Love, Tyler Allgeier, Bam Knight,
WR (7): Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson, Kendrick Bourne, Devin Duvernay, Reggie Virgil, Simi Fehoko, Jalen Brooks
TE (3): Trey McBride, Elijah Higgins, Hunter Long
OL (9): Paris Johnson Jr., Isaac Seumalo, Hjalte Froholdt, Isaiah Adams, Elijah Wilkinson, Jon Gaines, Josh Fryar, Jayden Williams, Hayden Conner
DL (6): Walter Nolen III, Darius Robinson, Roy Lopez, Andrew Billings, L.J. Collier, Dante Stills
OLB (5): Josh Sweat, Baron Browning, Zaven Collins, Jordan Burch, Eku Leota
ILB (4): Mack Wilson Sr., Cody Simon, Jack Gibbens, Karson Sharar
CB (5): Garrett Williams, Will Johnson, Denzel Burke, Max Melton, Kei'Trel Clark
S (5): Budda Baker, Andrew Wingard, Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, Kitan Crawford, Wydett Williams
Specialist (3): Chad Ryland, Blake Gillikin, Casey Kreiter

James Conner, Tip Reiman and Zach Carter are on respective injured reserve/PUP lists. They'll all miss at least the first four games of 2026.

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