Arizona
5 Biggest Things We Saw, Heard as Arizona Cardinals Begin OTA’s
ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals have just finished their first set of voluntary offseason team activities, and there’s plenty to talk about.
We posted our sights and sounds video already (which you can check out here), though that didn’t quite cover everything we saw in Tempe.
Five biggest takeaways from being at the team’s facility for offseason team activities:
1. Notable Absences
All of Jacoby Brissett, Josh Sweat, Baron Browning, L.J. Collier, and Trey Benson were not present for the voluntary portion of offseason team activities.
Brissett continues to hope for a new contract while Sweat apparently is a healthy absence according to Arizona Sports. Collier had a personal day while Browning’s absence is unknown.
According to @Gambo987 just now on @BurnsAndGambo, Josh Sweat is not hurt despite being absent from OTAs.
L.J. Collier, meanwhile, had a personal day yesterday.
— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) May 19, 2026
Starling Thomas and James Conner were spotted working off to the side while Tip Reiman (more on him later) and Walter Nolen III were also spotted on the sidelines. Garrett Williams posted on social media him getting recovery work in, too.
Benson suffered a season-ending injury last season, so he could be rehabbing elsewhere. Players who do not show in Tempe won’t be fined, though anybody who misses mandatory minicamp (June 8-10) will.
2. Jeremiyah Love Returning Kicks?
One of the biggest storylines was the emergence of No. 3 overall pick Jeremiyah Love returning some kicks during the open portion of practice this week. Max Melton was also an interesting name back there as well.
This caused a firestorm of overreactions on Love and the Cardinals’ potential usage of him. Many saw this as Love having to work his way through special teams while others think this will add more unnecessary hits if he is indeed on return duties.
“You’re experimenting with everyone in terms of a lot of different spots,” Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur told 98.7’s Burns and Gambo. “… Jeremiyah is a running back. We know that. But you never know.”
I wouldn’t read too much into this — at least right now. WR Devin Duvernay was signed this offseason as a primary return man.
3. Rookies Take (Expected) Back Seat
Neither Love or third-round rookie quarterback Carson Beck had dibs on the first taste of action with the starting unit while media were allowed to view practice.
That’s fine, and more importantly, very expected.
Even with Brissett out, it was the veteran Gardner Minshew repping with the first team offense. Tyler Allgeier was the main back for the Cardinals’ top offensive players.
Rookies, at this point in the offseason, are placed behind veterans purposefully. Even if this is the case in training camp, fans shouldn’t freak out if Allgeier is still over Love in the “pecking order” Arizona has.
This is simply the Cardinals working in their inexperienced players at a reasonable rate.
4. Sean Murphy-Bunting’s Position Change
Murphy-Bunting suffered a season-ending injury before even stepping into 2025 and was largely thought to be a cut candidate entering the offseason in a crowded cornerbacks room.
However, the Cardinals have apparently changed his position.
Murphy-Bunting, typically a boundary cornerback, was spotted working out with the safety group. Cornerback Will Johnson confirmed Murphy-Bunting was set to be a nickel corner, which serves Arizona as Williams is not expected to be ready for the start of the season due to injury.
When you’re trimming a roster down to 53, versatility matters.
5. Injury Updates
The Cardinals lost their top run-blocker in tight end Tip Reiman early last season with a right leg injury and is expected to be ready for training camp, according to LaFleur.
“Not going to dive too far into that, but [we] do expect him to be healthy, ready to roll when we get going in training camp. Another guy that I had a lot of respect for coming out of Illinois,” LaFleur told reporters.
“… Tip is all of the right stuff in terms of how he approaches it, and stuff like that. It’s unfortunate, obviously what happened a year ago, but [I believe he is a] big piece of where I think we can go.”
LaFleur was then asked about Benson, which drew a, “Kind of that same type of thing,” response from the Cardinals coach.
The Cardinals again will hit the practice field on May 21 where voluntary OTA’s continue.
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Arizona
2026 MLB Draft: Arizona likely to be minimally impacted after down season
Unlike other major pro sports in the United States, Major League Baseball’s annual draft is hardly must-see television. With 20 rounds of picks—it used to be 50—and very few of them household names, only true baseball diehards closely pay attention beyond the first handful of selections.
For college baseball fans, though, the MLB Draft can bring about some stress and uncertainty since both incoming freshmen and existing veterans are eligible to be selected. The best college juniors and seniors are sure to get drafted and sign, while top recruits may be lured into starting their pro careers early via a hefty signing bonus.
Last year the UA saw nine members of the 2025 squad, which reached the College World Series, get drafted and sign. One of its prep signees also took the money rather than come to Tucson.
The 2026 draft, which begins Saturday and finishes Sunday, won’t be nearly as impactful to Arizona’s roster. Only one current Wildcat with eligibility remaining is assured of being drafted: junior right-handed pitcher Owen Kramkowski.
Kramkowski, who struggled in the spring after a breakout 2025 season, is ranked as the 205th-best draft prospect by Baseball America and No. 245 by MLB.com. That would put him in the range of the 6th or 7th round to get selected, though he could go earlier. All indications are Kramkowski will sign.
Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess. No other current or future Wildcats are among BA’s Top 500.
Among Arizona’s outgoing seniors, the top candidate to get drafted is left-handed pitcher Patrick Morris, who is currently playing the MLB Draft League. Infielders Tyler Bickers and Maddox Mihalakis could also get picked late or sign as an undrafted free agent.
Draft-eligible juniors other than Kramkowski include lefty Maclain Roberts, catcher Beau Sylvester and outfielders Andrew Cain and Easton Breyfogle. A couple of Arizona’s 2027 newcomers, such as junior college righty Collin Cobb, prep infielder Ayden Deome and catcher Francisco Rivero, are also at risk of getting picked.
Arizona has had 293 players drafted in its history and has had at least two taken every year since 2011.
The first four rounds of the 2026 MLB Draft are Saturday, with NBC airing the first 10 picks starting at 10 a.m. PT before the broadcast switches to MLB Network and later MLB.com. Rounds 5-20 are Sunday on MLB.com starting at 8:30 a.m. PT.
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