The Cardinals have a lot of wideouts on the roster, and even with the DeAndre Hopkins suspension, there are going to be choices that have to be made about who stays and who goes. But as camp goes on -- and after the end of last season -- it sure looks like Greg Dortch could find a way to stick.
No, Dortch isn't a big name. (Or big, period, standing only 5-foot-7). But as wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson found when he went to do a private workout of Dortch back when Dortch was coming out of Wake Forest, all the kid does is make plays. He's quick, he's definitely fast, and he makes the catches when it's thrown to him.
"He's fearless, first and foremost," coach Kliff Kingsbury said. "You watch him return punts and he never wants to fair catch it. And anytime he gets his number called, he'll go up and across the middle, he doesn't think anyone can cover him. He's got a very confident personality.
"He's just got to continue to learn the system and really master it."
At Wednesday's practice, with a ton of veterans sitting out, Dortch again looked good. He made a grab against safety Jalen Thompson even as JT was in tight coverage. He made such a great jump cut on a short pass that left the defensive back grasping at air. And again, for a team that is seeking return men, Dortch could fill that role.
Games matter more, of course, and we will see what Dortch can do in the preseason, but he has impressed so far.
-- Hollywood Brown was slated to only do walkthrough at this point anyway. But his Wednesday morning instead came with an arrest for speeding. We will see what that means for Brown over the next few days.
-- Kingsbury said the most likely day for Kyler Murray to return from his Covid benching is Saturday -- which would happen to be the Red and White practice.
-- Another wide receiver who had a tough day was Antoine Wesley. Not because he didn't perform well. Wesley made a great sideline catch early in practice but when he came down, it looked like he might've landed on the ball. He took a minute to get up, but turned out OK -- only to go down later in practice after leaping for a pass deep downfield. He came down awkwardly and half-jogged/limped off the field directly back to the locker room.
-- A lot of players were given rest days: Hudson, Pugh, Beachum, Ertz, Green, Hopkins, Watt, Conner and Baker. Rookie Trey McBride was also given a day off with as much as they have worked him, Kingsbury said, dating back to the three days of pre-camp the rookies took part in. Markus Golden also missed his second straight day of practice.
-- Veteran tight end Stephen Anderson caught a TD pass for a second straight day, and given the uncertainty of Maxx Williams' return, Anderson could prove to be a valuable pickup.
-- The first units -- such that they were without many veterans -- took part in a late-game situation at the end of practice. The offense had the ball at their own 25, one minute left with one timeout. It wasn't a pretty drive at all, but Matt Prater saved the offense by knocking through a 61-yard field goal on the "game's" final play.
