INDIANAPOLIS – After sitting almost all of his starters in the preseason opener against the Saints, Jonathan Gannon said he wasn't sure who was going to play against the Colts on Saturday.
Much would have to do with how the two days of joint practices with the Colts on Wednesday and Thursday will go, Gannon added – because the work is going to be similar.
"It's going to be a souped-up two days," Gannon playfully warned.
Where once joint practices for the Cardinals were rare, they have become an annual event. In Kliff Kingsbury's final year the Cardinals had work in Tennessee against the Titans. Last year, Gannon took his team to Minnesota for two practices. Now comes a trip to Indiana for a pair of 6 p.m. practices that are open to the public.
Gannon believes joint practices, by definition, are safer than preseason games. Yet it can serve as important reps for players – like quarterback Kyler Murray – who aren't going to play in the preseason.
"We need to be ready to play when we play at Buffalo (Week 1)," Gannon said. "Certain guys are at different stages in their career."
Working on execution and technique, especially going against opponents with whom Cardinals players are not familiar, are the main goals for the practices, Gannon said. He wants his guys to practice "the same way we have been practicing."
Is that possible when you see players on another team?
"If JG says it, then I think it is true," rookie defensive lineman Darius Robinson said with a smile. "Whatever he says goes. I'm just ready to compete, do what the Cardinals expect me to do. Play at a high level and put our team first."
Even if it gets heated at moments, Gannon is not concerned about fights. He is close with Colts coach Shane Steichen, the two serving as the Eagles coordinators the year Philadelphia made the Super Bowl in 2022. And Gannon has made it clear multiple times with his team he doesn't tolerate such things.
"The only rule I can give you (for joint work) is no fighting," cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting said. "That's the borderline of what a coach wants and what they don't want.
"As long as you can compete at a high level without fighting, I think everything is fine."
