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Friday before the Texans, as #CardsCamp ends

Training camp is over. Bruce Arians was happy with it and major injuries were avoided (although Arians was a little incredulous that was brought up Friday.) Now they head to Houston for the third preseason game against the Texans as the offense in particular tries to have a consistent outing.

First, though, a look back at camp. Arians said the only starting job still undecided is the cornerback spot opposite Patrick Peterson. That means, barring someone from the outside, both D.J. Humphries and A.Q. Shipley have solidified their jobs as right tackle and center, respectively. As for the cornerback, it feels like it'll be tough for Bethel or Mike Jenkins to dislodge Brandon Williams unless it comes quickly. Jenkins would have to completely outplay the others to get the nod, because if it's close, the Cards figure to go young when they can.

It was a long camp, but there was the week in San Diego, and we'll see if Arians can make good on his wish to practice against two different teams in training camp 2017. But that's a long way off.

-- Arians said there were no surprises other than the guys already talked about. That includes wide receiver Chris Hubert, tight end Troy Niklas, Jenkins of late, even rookie guard Cole Toner, who held up when he took first team reps during those days when Mike Iupati and Antoine McClain were hurt.

-- Speaking of which, here are azcardinals.com's "awards" for training camp.

-- Fourth-string QB Jake Coker, who has struggled in practice, won't make the trip to Houston because of a sore knee. But Arians indicated Coker will make the first round of cuts Monday since he said Coker would be back for the Broncos' game next week. Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton will get the chunk of the work against the Texans. We'll see how much Matt Barkley does to finish up.

-- Arians guesstimated there are about eight roster spots not yet determined, for about 20 different players. Not sure if that includes the very specific long-snapper job, for which Cam Kanaday and Daniel Dillon remain close.

-- Palmer, talking about the length of the four-game preseason: "I'm torn on it."

"You need those games to see who you want on your team," Palmer said. {You can't just do it in practice. It has to be in live tackling situations and special teams and all those things."

The fourth game against Denver, of course, will have most of the Cardinals' key players sitting out altogether. That's why the Texans game looms large for the main players on the roster in terms of a tune-up.

-- Earl Watford, who banged up his knee pretty good a couple of weeks ago, has been back at practice. His is an important situation, because he figures to make the team as the sixth offense lineman, able to play any position when he is active on game day. Arians said he wants to see Watford have one more "solid week" of practice, especially at tackle. Why is that important? Because there is still a chance it will be Watford who would be the replacement tackle if Veldheer or Humphries gets hurt.

-- Anxious to see Robert Nkemdiche in his first game Sunday. He can be good, it looks like. How quickly he can be good is up to him.

EndCampBlog
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