The Arizona Cardinals opened rookie minicamp on Thursday but took the field for the first time on Friday. It was a small group.
It consisted of 16 players — their 12 draft picks, three rookie free agent signings and then one camp invite.
The one camp invite was undrafted rookie quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa.
This is a break from the old tradition of having a full roster with scores of tryout players and even a few young return players.
Head coach Jonathan Gannon, who is holding a small rookie camp for the second straight year, apparently believes in a scaled-back version, focused on those players getting as much information as they can.
With only 16 players, they will only be able to do limited drills on the field, but it will be about translating the mental part of what they have been taught in meetings to what they should do on the field.
While in older rookie minicamps, they would get competitive and a little physical (remember when head coach Bruce Arians had to pull the reins on then-rookie defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche during rookie minicamp practices), they will not be able to do full 11-on-11 work. They only have two offensive linemen and two defensive linemen.
Their practices this weekend will be assignment-based.
The question that remains is whether Tagovailoa will earn a spot on the roster for the offseason. The Cardinals have one vacancy currently and teams often go with four quarterbacks in offseason workouts. Kyler Murray, Desmond Ridder and Clayton Tune are the quarterbacks currently on the roster. All are healthy.
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