ARIZONA – The Arizona Cardinals suffered a lackluster performance against the Denver Broncos, losing their final preseason game by a score of 38-12.

Without any action from Arizona’s starters, the Cardinals played an ugly game on both sides of the ball. They finish their 2024 preseason winless, but the game was anything but a waste.

Here are four Cardinals who have increased their value and made one final push to make the 2024 roster or secure a larger role.

Speedy Xavier Weaver has been a spark for this second offensive unit throughout the preseason. The undrafted rookie from Colorado has shown excellent speed, agility and running ability and has fought hard to secure the top spot on the roster.

Although Weaver only caught two passes, he was the Cardinals’ best receiver and easily could have done more with a few better-thrown passes. He showed good yardage and fast breaks, and his acceleration allowed him to get ahead of the defense on several occasions.

Weaver’s excellent cut in single coverage midway through the second quarter was particularly notable. As quarterback Clayton Tune drifted to the right, Weaver was faster than his opponent and threw a beautiful 43-yard pass – the longest play of the game for Arizona.

He also managed 16 return yards and showed good, patient open field vision on a few kicks. His competitiveness, quickness and versatility, coupled with the recent suspension of veteran wide receiver Zay Jones, open up a potential spot on the active roster for Weaver, and he certainly strengthened his position on Sunday.

Both the interior and exterior of the defensive line have been less than stellar, and injuries to BJ Ojulari and Darius Robinson could see the Cardinals’ front seven perform worse again.

Still, the Cardinals managed to put a fair amount of pressure on Broncos quarterback Zach Wilson, with much of that pressure coming from third-year forward Cameron Thomas.

Thomas lived in the Broncos’ backfield, as he has done much of the preseason. He hasn’t managed a sack yet, but he’s consistently getting reps and disrupting the quarterback’s rhythm each week.

He made three tackles on Sunday, including a tackle for a loss, two QB hits and a sack. Midway through the third quarter, Thomas charged unblocked at Wilson, nearly caught the sack and forced a throw. Two plays later, he beat his opponent badly at the snap, clinched Wilson for a loss of six yards and forced the Broncos to punt.

With his next-man-up mentality, the young LB could be a key player every week, but mostly on pass rush downs. Regardless, he has recorded three sacks in his last two preseason games, increasing his value ahead of the regular season.

Hall was a surprising member of the Cardinals secondary. While the defensive backs unit was lackluster at best today when it came to thwarting Wilson and the Broncos’ aerial attack, Hall was once again a pest, racking up another astonishing eight tackles (four of them solo).

He may not collect PBUs or interceptions, but he finds ways to be in the right place at the right time.

Hall has recorded 17 total tackles in three preseason games (11 of them solo). In both Sunday’s game and last week’s loss to the Colts, he led the entire defense in that category and was second in tackles in Week 1.

He may not be one of Arizona’s most important coverage units, but he has shown an exceptional ability to get in on open-field tackles and catch the ball, no matter how far away he is from the ball carrier at the start of the play.

If these games are any indication of his potential, Hall appears to find a home in the rotation defense of Jonathan Gannon and Nick Rallis in 2024.

It’s been a strange journey for the third-year outside linebacker. Due to some positional oddities, including a stint at fullback, Luketa wasn’t viewed as a major contributor on defense.

He had a quiet career at Arizona, but was effective in Sunday’s game, along with the aforementioned Cameron Thomas. Like Thomas, Luketa regularly got reps and put a lot of pressure on the Broncos’ quarterbacks.

He made two solo tackles, including a tackle for loss and a sack of his own on Wilson, and even blocked a pass at the line of scrimmage. He recorded two QB hits and a handful of pressure situations outside of the sack on his own and was generally a disruptor in the trenches.

Luketa isn’t necessarily a player who plays well in every game, but it’s encouraging to see bursts of pressure and the ability to put even the slightest bit of pressure on opposing quarterbacks. The Cardinals are missing two of their key pass rushers on an already thin unit, so Gannon and Rallis will likely get everything they can out of their D-line.