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After practice: Nkemdiche limps off

Bruce Arians was talking at lunchtime about how healthy the Cardinals were getting. Then defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche limped off to the locker room, accompanied by a trainer. Looked like his left ankle or leg was bothering him. No way to know what it is -- your first thought is that it isn't serious, but we'll talk to Arians tomorrow -- yet with the very good preseason/camp Nkemdiche has been having, it's certainly an undesirable situation.

-- QB Carson Palmer took a rest day. So too did LB Karlos Dansby, who finally came back to practice Monday. I'm sure they are just being careful with Dansby, but it's been a while since he's had a couple practices in a row.

-- With Dansby not out there, Josh Bynes was taking first-team reps at inside linebacker with Haason Reddick in Bynes' first practice following a hamstring issue. It sure looks like Bynes has a roster spot, unless he collapses the rest of the preseason.

-- RB Kerwynn Williams was also sitting out practice. Not sure his aliment. Arians did not mention him during his press conference.

-- The last two days, Reddick has been taking reps as an OLB/pass rusher during one-on-one drills with the offensive line. (Actually, they have been two-on-two drills as  the OL works on protecting on stunts and twists.) The Cardinals aren't going to overwhelm Reddick with too many non-ILB things right now, but Arians had said they want to get him a little more exposure to pass rushing.

-- Is David Johnson getting to do enough? It's interesting to watch the running back sprint 30, 40, 50 yards through a play sometimes -- occasionally he doesn't even have the ball -- in what looks like an attempt just to get some running in. (Side note: He's fast. Faster than you think.)

-- During "thud" tackling, whoever is covering TE Jermaine Gresham better be ready. Gresham still plows into a defender who chooses to get in front of him.

-- During scout team work, rookie QB Trevor Knight had a couple of nice 44-yard bombs to RB James Summers (over LB Chandler Jones) and WR Krishawn Hogan (over S Budda Baker.)

-- Mostly though, it was a practice of the defense. Tyrann Mathieu was actually getting irritated late in the work because scout-look QBs were holding the ball so long against the No. 1 D (there would have been multiple sacks). Mathieu would have had one airborne pick before he yanked his arms down at the last second, preventing any kind of in-air contact, and on another play where Knight short-hopped a receiver Mathieu had defended perfectly, Mathieu angrily batted the ball back into the turf. He knows he would've had the pick.

-- Guys that did get interceptions: CB Patrick Peterson, S Ironhead Gallon, LB Philip Wheeler in his first practice back from injury, and Baker.

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