TEMPE, Ariz. – Bruce Arians wasn’t kidding when he threatened changes to the Arizona Cardinals' wide receiving corps after Sunday’s loss to the Houston Texans.
He just didn’t need to look far to find other options, and he got a little help from some of the guys he was upset with.
Over the past few days, Arians said rookie Chad Williams will get a larger role and that John Brown will miss Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars; Carlton Agudosi was promoted from the practice squad; and J.J. Nelson has been limited in practice with a chest injury.
With Brown out and Andre Ellington having been released Monday, the Cardinals will enter Sunday without their third and fourth most-targeted receivers.
So, who’ll pick up their slack?
“We’ll see,” Arians said. “That’s up to the quarterback depending on the coverage. We don’t say, ‘Hey, throw it to this guy 10 times.’ It’s just whatever the coverage dictates, that’s where the ball goes.”
And where the ball goes Sunday may just be a bit different than it has been earlier in the season.
Williams, Arizona’s third-round pick this year, has been eagerly waiting for his shot to be a regular contributor. He has been inactive for eight of the Cardinals’ 10 games, and, in the two he played, had two catches for 23 yards.
That time watching on the bench has helped Williams feel “more comfortable.”
“Feel like I have way more experience,” he said. “Things I needed to work on in the past I worked on and corrected those things.”
Williams focused on sharpening his routes and his technique within those routes.
“I feel like I’m ready,” Williams said.
Agudosi, a lanky 6-foot-6 undrafted rookie, was promoted from the practice squad earlier this week. Even though Arians has been critical of the receivers recently, Agudosi appreciates his fellow receivers for the help they’ve given him.
“I have a lot of confidence in the receivers’ room,” he said. “All those guys helped me get to this point and I have a lot of confidence in them and I know that their games are going to pick up.
“I’m just happy they brought me up.”
Arians has liked Agudosi since he signed with the team in May.
“He’s a very competitive guy. Plays with a chip on his shoulder every day and he can play tall. Some guys are tall, they can’t play tall. He can make those high ball catches and he’s really worked on his hands. I wouldn’t say he was a great catcher when he got here but he’s really worked at [it].”
Both rookies have endeared themselves to veteran Larry Fitzgerald. He respects their work ethic and studious approach to the game. Fitzgerald compared Agudosi to former Giants WR Plaxico Burress because of his length and described Williams as "very, very, very, very quick" when coming in and out of his breaks.
"They're a heck of a lot more mature than I was when I was a rookie," Fitzgerald said. "I don't know if that's saying a lot or not, but those guys really care about the game."
With Williams better equipped to handle a full workload this week and Agudosi a weapon if he’s active, Arians can veer his playcalling away from those receivers who didn’t come through for him last weekend in Houston.
Arians said Nelson dropped an easy pass after making two tough catches because of his eye positioning. Jaron Brown “peeked up going over the middle.” Brown missed a low pass that Arians felt should’ve been caught. In all, Arizona had two drops against the Texans, five in the last two weeks and 18 all season -- fifth most in the NFL.
That left Arians, who proclaimed during offseason practices that he had 12 NFL-caliber receivers, to express his recent disappointment with the same group.
“It’s hard to describe, because there’s so much talent in that room, and the way they went through OTAs [organized team activities] and all of camp, I really thought it was a strength of our team,” Arians said. “And it’s now become our weakness.”