The Arizona Cardinals are just hours away from beginning its 2024 preseason as they have a battle with an NFC foe tonight, the New Orleans.
Going into the game, the Cardinals are relatively at full strength, with starting quarterback Kyler Murray ruled out for the preseason so he can remain healthy once the regular season arrives.
Before the two teams square up inside State Farm Stadium, Arizona offensive lineman Carter O’Donnell and linebacker BJ Ojulari are both on injured reserve and won’t play while running back Emari Demercado is questionable with a presumed shoulder injury.
Though he was waived at the start of camp, O’Donnell went unclaimed and was placed on injured reserve. After he was not selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, he became a free agent, was signed, waived and re-signed multiple times by the Indianapolis Colts before he was waived one final time on Aug. 30, 2023, without playing one game. The next day, the Cardinals claimed him off waivers and played five games last season.
Ojulari was a second-round (41st overall) draft pick last year where he appeared in all 17 games for Arizona. For the Cards, the Georgia native collected 4.0 sacks, one pass breakup and 40 total tackles. As training camp was getting underway, Ojulari suffered a season-ending torn ACL on Aug. 2 and was placed on injured reserve a few days later.
As for Demercado, he is dealing with a shoulder issue but it is not believed to be a serious injury that will keep him out for an extended period of time. Like Ojulari, Demercado was a rookie who signed with the Cardinals last season, but as an undrafted free agent.
Making the 53-man roster last year, the TCU product appeared in 14 games and made two NFL starts with starting running back James Conner missing about a month with a knee injury. As Conner was edging closer to a return, however, Demercado went down with a toe injury and missed three games in November. He ended up scoring two touchdowns and had 21 receptions for 119 yards during his first year as a pro.
The Cardinals take on the Saints tonight in Glendale at 5 p.m. PT.
