4 Position Battles Free Agency Just Created for the Cardinals

The initial wave of free agency frenzy for the Arizona Cardinals has come and gone as we enter the tenth day of festivities. While the team could still bring on more players, majority of impact signings have been made.

As a result of Arizona's moves, the following four positions are set to see some competition this summer when training camp rolls around:

Running Back: James Conner, Tyler Allgeier and Trey Benson

The Cardinals' backfield is shaping up to be a 1A/1B approach with Allgeier and Conner, and while they'll certainly battle for prominent snaps — the real challenge here is for Benson.

Benson now finds himself on the outside looking in of the rotation after struggling through the first two years of his career thanks to an unfortunate mix of inexperience and injury.

While there's been flashes in the pan, there hasn't been nearly enough to cook.

Can Benson reaffirm himself in the Cardinals' backfield even with Allgeier's signing? That's the real battle to watch in this room.

Inside Linebacker: Cody Simon, Jack Gibbens

Mack Wilson Sr. is cemented as one of the two starting inside linebackers for Arizona, and it's a two-man race for the other spot assuming returning defensive coordinator Nick Rallis runs a base 3-4.

Simon started the tail end of his rookie season as the Cardinals' green dot and was essentially baptized by the fire. Gibbens was signed this offseason after being a rotational starter in New England.

The Cardinals cut prior starter Akeem Davis-Gaither in camp, so Arizona's addition of Gibbens will at worst give the organization a nice three-man rotation at inside linebacker. Gibbens graded well in pass coverage last season and could be used heavily in nickel packages.

Right Guard: Isaiah Adams, Matt Pryor, Elijah Wilkinson

Isaac Seumalo was signed to start at left guard next to Paris Johnson Jr., filling the left side of the line but still leaving an opening at the other guard spot.

Adams was up and down through last season while Pryor and Wilkinson are new additions that have both played guard and tackle through their careers. As of now, one of the new guys could align at right tackle.

The other could push Adams in a camp competition. It's a weird mix/blend happening on the right side of the line, though any of the three could conceivably land the starting job at right guard.

Safety: Andrew Wingard, Dadrion Taylor-Demerson

Budda Baker obviously anchors one of the two traditional safety spots, and while we don't believe Taylor-Demerson will let the starting job slip, the Cardinals did send a message after losing Jalen Thompson and bringing on Wingard — who was a team captain and starter for the Jacksonville Jaguars last season.

Taylor-Demerson is the better athlete, and his trajectory is exciting while the veteran Wingard is what he is at this point in time: A good tackler who isn't quite considered an elite athlete.

That said, we'll see if Wingard's experience can make this an actual competition in camp. All three of Baker, Wingard and Taylor-Demerson will see time in Rallis' often used dime package, though when it comes to base, this is Taylor-Demerson's job to lose — but Wingard won't make it easy.