UPDATE:
DeAndre Hopkins also in street clothes, standing with injured WRs A.J. Green and Antoine Wesley.
— Darren Urban (@Cardschatter) August 14, 2021
Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb is in uniform and expected to make his preseason debut tonight vs. Cardinals. He returned some punts pregame while ST coordinator John Fassel drilled ball security, throwing right hooks when wearing a black boxing glove. pic.twitter.com/cGgdVeU2FY
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) August 14, 2021
The Arizona Cardinals will open preseason play on Friday night. They’ll host the Dallas Cowboys, who are playing their second preseason game, having made their exhibition debut in last week’s Hall of Fame game. The game starts at 10 pm ET on NFL Network. As with so many preseason games, it’s a mixed bag as to which starters will actually play—and the ones that do usually don’t stay in past the first quarter.
Quarterbacks
Dak Prescott will sit this one out for the Cowboys. He left practice at the end of last month with a shoulder injury and still hasn’t done much throwing. Dallas is adamant that Prescott will be fine for the season opener, but we may not see him in the preseason at all. The Cowboys will lean on Garrett Gilbert and Ben DiNucci for this week’s game.
There will be some star power at the quarterback position this week. The Cardinals are planning on giving starter Kyler Murray a few reps. Colt McCoy and Chris Streveler will see the majority of reps under center.
Running Backs
James Conner will not play. Arizona’s offseason addition was added to the COVID list on Thursday, deemed a high-risk close contact. The Cardinals are expect to split the work between Conner and Chase Edmonds during the regular season, but Eno Benjamin and Jonathan Ward will see more snaps this week, with the chance to make a case for the final roster.
Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard have the starting and backup roles, respectively, locked down, so Rico Dowdle, JaQuan Hardy and Brenden Knox can duke it out for carries in this one.
Wide Receivers
DeAndre Hopkins missed practice with the Cardinals on Wednesday with a “minor issue.”
Tight Ends
Cardinals tight end Darrell Daniels landed on the COVID list too, so he’ll be out this week.