The Arizona Cardinals have cut their roster down and are now on the path of preparing for their season opener on the road against the Washington Commanders.
While head coach Jonathan Gannon refuses to name starters yet, the preseason depth chart and the playing rotation in the preseason give us an idea of what the starting lineup will look like.
Buy Cardinals TicketsThere are a handful of surprises, based on expectations entering the offseason. Four projected starters were not expected to be starters when the offseason began.
QB Josh Dobbs
Dobbs wasn’t even on the roster in the offseason, although he was close to signing. He was acquired in a trade and now is expected to be the Cardinals’ starting quarterback in Week 1. Dobbs has only two career starts and only eight career games played since entering the league in 2017.
C Hjalte Froholdt
Froholdt had four career starts and games at center in the NFL entering this offseason. When he was signed in free agency, it was assumed that the Cardinals would end up signing an established veteran center.
They never did until training camp and Froholdt never left the first-team offense. He looked good in the preseason and there is optimism for the position as the season starts.
DL Leki Fotu
Fotu felt like could be an odd man out when the offseason began. He hadn’t done much in three seasons. Apparently, defensive coordinator Nick Rallis likes him because he went from small playing time last season to being the Cardinals’ starting nose tackle.
DL Jonathan Ledbeter
Ledbetter quietly had a decent season for the Cardinals last season, appearing in 14 games and starting three after playing in two career games before last season.
He was not someone anyone expected to even still be on the team, much less a starter with a new coaching staff.
