Cardinals Wrap up Preseason in Denver, Sit Starters
By Kody Acevedo
August 30, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver John Brown (12) makes a catch against Oakland Raiders defensive back Neiko Thorpe (31) during the second quarter in a preseason NFL football game at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
There’s a sense of excitement in the air.
The temperatures are cooling, the leaves are changing colors and the 2015 NFL season is just days away. It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Oh wait, thats suppose to be Christmas time.
It doesn’t matter. The 2015 NFL preseason wraps up Thursday as the Arizona Cardinals (1-2) travel to Denver to Broncos (3-0).
Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians confirmed earlier in the week that the Arizona starters will not play against the Broncos.
Arians said he is giving the veterans the week off from the game and practice. The Cardinals will instead focus on the younger guys who are fighting for a spot on the roster.
They practiced Monday and Tuesday while the veterans played 7-on-7 outside of the practice facilities.
In the report, Arians announced that Phillip Sims get the start as the Arizona quarterback. Last week against the Raiders, Sims made a brief appearance in the game and shined when he was given an opportunity.
He was three-for-four with 29 yards and a touchdown. He also picked up six yards in his only rush of the game.
Logan Thomas is supposedly scheduled to take over in the second half tonight.
Thomas appeared against the Raiders last week as well. He replaced Carson Palmer after Palmer and the offense had a pretty rough go around in the first half of that game.
Thomas did not score a touchdown, but went three-for-five for 60 yards.
Thursday may also be the day we see running back Chris Johnson take the field for the first time since December.
The New York Jets did not option Johnson’s contract at the end of last season after he rushed 155 times for 663 yards. The year before that, Johnson tallied 279 carries for a total of 1,077 yards.
But during the offseason, Johnson was severely injured after a drive-by shooting in Florida. The incident claimed the life of a friend who was sitting next to Johnson the moment shots rang out.
Johnson fought his way back into the NFL only to suffer a hamstring injury two days before Arizona’s second preseason game against the San Diego Chargers.
Arians said Johnson will get somewhere between 10 and 12 carries against the Broncos. The Cardinals will play it safe though as Arians will try not to overwork the recovering running back.
The last thing anybody wants is Johnson to re-pull his hamstring.
The Cardinals are coming off a 30-23 win over the Oakland Raiders last week after dropping their first two preseason games in a row.
Denver has yet to lose a preseason game. They picked up a 19-12 win last week against the San Francisco 49ers. Prior to that, they defeated the Houston Texans in week two and 14-10 and the defending NFC Champion Seahawks 22-20 in week one.