Mike LaFleur’s update was the one Cardinals fans were waiting for: Arizona is going to put its starters on the field Thursday night in Las Vegas.
After sitting roughly 35 players who were considered starters or borderline starters last week, the Cardinals are taking a different approach against the Raiders. LaFleur said the main group will play, though the workload will be limited.
"They're going to play. So we'll have our guys out there.
How much? It's not going to be much.
Could be one drive, max of two [drives] for those main guys. But yeah, they'll be playing, and they know that," LaFleur said ahead of the Raiders game.
That means more familiar names are set to appear after being held out of the Hall of Fame Game. Among the players expected to get action are Jacoby Brissett, Marvin Harrison Jr., Trey McBride, Jeremiyah Love and Budda Baker.
Last week’s preseason opener did include some of Arizona’s biggest veteran names, with Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, BJ Ojulari and Andrew Billings all seeing the field.
Las Vegas is expected to dress its starters as well, and Thursday night will also bring the first look at No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza in a Raiders uniform.
LaFleur made it clear the Cardinals are not spending this week trying to decode the Raiders’ 2025 film.
"From just an actual game plan standpoint, we're not doing any of that. Like I haven't watched the snap of Vegas from last year," LaFleur said.
"It's a new defensive coordinator. He was on the staff.
Don't know if he's going to do the exact same or complete opposite. Have no idea."
The Cardinals are also wrapping up training camp with today’s practice, and LaFleur said the team got what it needed out of the summer.
"Absolutely. I think first and foremost, like we talked about, the weather and just keep these guys out of the heat," said LaFleur.
"We got to go battle it when we get back to Tempe, we'll be smart about that, obviously, but we are going to have to be out there at some point for obvious reasons. That was first and foremost, and like I said, I mean, we took it one day at a time, one block at a time, and I thought we there was improvement, but still a long way to go."
Arizona will practice 15 times before heading back to Tempe to finish the preseason. After Thursday’s game against the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium at 5:00 PM, the Cardinals still have preseason matchups with the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers before the regular season begins.
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