The Arizona Cardinals made the necessary moves to get their roster down to the 53 players that is required by the league. There were some interesting things -- like keeping 12 defensive backs, although the reported trade of A.J. Jefferson made things make a little more sense. They also only kept five receivers and three outside linebackers.

In a column I wrote for SB Nation Arizona, I gave the three moves that were surprises to me.

Those moves were the cutting of Clark Haggans and DeMarco Sampson, and the one keeper that surprised me was Michael Adams.

The cutting of Haggans seems to suggest to me that Reggie Walker and Stewart Bradley will also see a lot of reps both inside and outside. I cannot imagine the team rolling with only Sam Acho, O'Brien Schofield and Quentin Groves to man the outside alone.

Sampson's departure was a surprise to me because he had shown some good plays and played well on special teams. But the fact that John Skelton will be starting at quarterback seems to suggest that the offense may be using less spread sets. And if they do use a four-wide set, one is probably going to be one of their tight ends (Todd Heap, Rob Housler).

I honestly believed that the Cards would go with only five receivers a season ago if they were going to keep four tight ends. They didn't.

The one surprise keeper for me was cornerback Michael Adams, although once A.J. Jefferson was reportedly traded, his staying made more sense. Depth at defensive back was a strength for Arizona and I thought that with the acquisition of William Gay and the drafting of Jamell Fleming, he would be the odd man out. It looks like, though, this season he will probably not see any defensive snaps unless there are injuries.

For the rest of you, were there any surprises? Tell us about them in the comments.

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