Arizona Cardinals offseason: Justin Bethel to play cornerback

When the Arizona Cardinals defensive back Justin Bethel last year, they knew they were getting a player that would be a special teams performer. They had him listed as a safety a season ago, and he saw time at both cornerback and at safety.

Part of what defensive coordinator Ray Horton liked was to have player that could fill in at multiple positions.

New head coach Bruce Arians takes a different approach, at least with Bethel, saying a while back that they would pick a position for him and have him stick to it. At that point, it was unsure whether it would be at corner or at safety.

With the start of informal team workouts, that has since been cleared up and Bethel himself tweeted this:

Cornerback it is #time2grind

— Justin bethel (@Jbet26) April 2, 2013

He would be fifth on the depth chart at the position. The team already has Pro Bowler Patrick Peterson. They signed Jarraud Powers and Antoine Cason as free agents this offseason. They have Jamell Fleming returning, who was drafted by Arizona in the third round last year. Then there is Bethel.

If he is going to find playing time on the field on defense, he is going to work his tail off. At minimum, he will be expected to fill the role that Michael Adams had a season ago -- special teams guy and someone that can come on the field on defense as needed when there are injuries.

What do you expect from Bethel in 2013?

Keep up with Cardinals news and opinions when you are not on the site. Follow Revenge of the Birds on Twitter at @revengeofbirds and "like" us on Facebook. You can follow me individually at @senorjessroot.