It comes as no surprise by now, but the battle for the No. 2 cornerback spot never really ended up much of a battle. Justin Bethel was the leading candidate coming into camp and no one ever really came close. Coach Bruce Arians officially said Bethel was the starter opposite Patrick Peterson.
"He's earned that job," Arians said.
"I'm as pleased with the corner position as I am with just about any position on the team right now," Arians added.
Brandon Williams and Tramon Williams will be the No. 3 and No. 4 corners. It's likely that those are the only four cornerbacks the Cardinals keep on the 53-man roster, given an abundance of safeties.
-- The penultimate Cardinals training camp practice featured a visit from the governor. The final one Thursday featured a U.S. senator. Huge Cardinals fan John McCain stopped by during the workout, chatting with team president Michael Bidwill, General Manager Steve Keim and scout Adrian Wilson for a bit before coming down to the field and getting a couple of minutes to talk to Larry Fitzgerald, Carson Palmer and then David Johnson.
"It was cool," Johnson said. "We just got to talking about Iowa, bringing up the old memories. The Iowa state fair where everything's fried, fried twinkies and stuff."
Tackle D.J. Humphries joked that McCain wanted to talk to the wrong D.J.
"I don't think I'm cool enough," Humphries said. "That's all it is. There's a hierarchy when it comes to cool guys, and I don't think I've met that level of expectancy to be 'Cool Guy' yet. Maybe next year I'll give it a shot. I'll try harder next year."
-- The receivers rallied in camp after Arians said they needed to pick up their game. One player in particular was J.J. Nelson, Arians said, adding that Nelson will be a captain Saturday night.
-- Arians said the Cardinals, who return to their Tempe facility next week, will be practicing earlier in the morning to prep for the early morning kickoffs as the regular season begins. Both the first two games, at Detroit and at Indianapolis, will kick off at 10 a.m. Arizona time.
