LaFleur explains Cardinals roster surprises, offers Love update

The Arizona Cardinals‘ roster release may not have had any jaw-dropping surprises, but it was filled with mild curiosities. The organization cut ties with multiple former top draft picks, while opting for seven wide receivers, five safeties and placing James Conner on injured reserve. Plus, there were two trades: Sending running back Corey Kiner to New England and acquiring tight end Hunter Long from Jacksonville.

On Monday, Aug. 31, head coach Mike LaFleur met with reporters to explain those decisions. Here’s what we learned.

The Cardinals held the No. 3 priority on the waiver wire but did not claim any players in that process. There are two reasons for that, LaFleur explained.

“1) Do we think he is gonna upgrade the roster?” LaFleur said. “And 2) If it’s close, the time on task that you have with the guys currently in the building compared to a guy coming off the street that has to learn our building, have to learn the coach, have to learn the scheme, all those things.”

In the end, the Cardinals didn’t see any players whose skill set justified engaging in that process.

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The Cardinals sent a 2028 sixth-round pick for Long, also receiving a 2028 seventh-rounder in return. The tight end spent two seasons with LaFleur in Los Angeles in 2023 and 2024, which was a key part of the Cardinals’ decision to acquire him.

“He has experience in this offense, blocking our wide zone, blocking our duos, understanding our terminology,” LaFleur said.

LaFleur explained Long’s blocking skill set as an “insurance policy” while Tip Reiman is on PUP and gives the Cardinals another option in addition to Teagan Quitoriano, who they re-signed to the practice squad.

In explaining the decision to keep Eku Leota over B.J. Ojulari at edge rusher, LaFleur was straightforward: “Eku won the competition.”

But there’s more to it than that. Ojulari, a former second-round pick, tore three ligaments in his knee before the 2024 season and never recovered his explosiveness. That made his release a difficult day for those who have worked closely with him.

“I feel for BJ,” LaFleur said. “If you guys saw the work that he put in behind the scenes to try to get back to the level that he knows he’s capable of, you’d root for him too. His journey and his story’s not over. But that was a rough injury that he went through. In my six months here, all I saw was a guy that had his shoulders up and his head held high, and he just attacked it.”

The Cardinals released three high-profile cornerbacks as part of their roster cuts: Sean Murphy-Bunting (a former marquee free agent signing), Starling Thomas V (a starter in 2024) and Elijah Jones (a 2024 third-round pick). Of that group, only Thomas has been re-signed to the practice squad.

Initially, that seemed to pave the way for Kei’Trel Clark to serve as Garrett Williams’ backup in the slot, as Williams works to be ready for Week 1 in his recovery from a torn Achilles. LaFleur, though, said that Denzel Burke is currently set for that role.

“We’ve been moving (Burke) inside a little bit more as of the last two or three weeks,” LaFleur said. “That’s kind of that next guy right now as the roster stands.”

Like with Ojulari, LaFleur said that injuries played a role at cornerback. Both Murphy-Bunting and Thomas suffered torn ACLs before the 2025 season, and neither was able to reclaim their roles this summer.

In terms of roster mechanics, the two biggest surprises for the Cardinals were the decisions to keep seven wide receivers and five safeties.

At wide receiver, that was partly due to special teams, as LaFleur said that both Simi Fehoko and Jalen Brooks impressed in their work with that unit. As a result, the Cardinals were able to go heavy on wide receivers and light at other positions.

At safety, the decision was simply a reflection of undrafted free agent Wydett Williams Jr., who impressed throughout training camp and preseason. Williams, notably, was among the NFL players granted an injunction to return to college football before his decision to stay with the Cardinals.

“I saw him yesterday, I said, ‘1) you earned it, 2) I guess there’s no Saturdays for you anymore,'” LaFleur said. “His arrow and his progression just continued to go up. And he earned this spot.”

After trading Kiner away and placing Conner on IR, the Cardinals kept just three running backs on the active roster. LaFleur was asked whether that means he is confident that Jeremiyah Love will be ready for Week 1.

“Confident that he is progressing really well,” LaFleur said. “He’s taking another step, took a step yesterday, will take another step today.”

That lack of clarity was a common trend in LaFleur’s press conference. He did not commit to a timeline for either cornerback Garrett Williams (Achilles) or right guard Isaiah Adams (knee), saying, “it’s gonna go right into Week 1” for both players.

Cornerback Will Johnson also did not practice on Monday. LaFleur said only that he is dealing with a “lower-body” injury.

“We’ll be smart with him in terms of what we’re doing this week, but he is progressing well,” LaFleur said.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: LaFleur explains Cardinals roster surprises, offers Love update