Arizona Cardinals OTAs: A look at the early first team lineup

The Arizona Cardinals had their first official OTA session on Tuesday and the media was allowed to attend. Based on reports from Kent Somers, Darren Urban and more, we know who is running with the first team and second team. That doesn't mean it won't change, but it gives us some insight as to what the depth chart will shape out to be.

On the offensive line, the starters were left tackle Jared Veldheer, left guard Jonathan Cooper, center Lyle Sendlein, right guard Paul Fanaika and right tackle Bradley Sowell. Earlier this month in offseason workouts, it was Fanaika and Sowell, and it should be no surprise why, as they were both starters last season. 

At tight end, per Kent Somers, the two starters were John Carlson (signed as an unrestricted free agent this offseason) and Jake Ballard. Rob Housler will have some work to do if he wants to crack the starting lineup again. 

At safety, it was Rashad Johnson and Tony Jefferson. Tyrann Mathieu will start at free safety when healthy. Deone Bucannon is expected to eventually start at strong safety, but Jefferson won't make that easy, based on his work in practice. 

The defensive line was as expected, but the starts at linebackers were Sam Acho, Daryl Washington, Kevin Minter and Matt Shaughnessy. Don't read too much into it, as Abraham is getting the veteran treatment in OTAs -- he won't practice much. Acho will be behind Abraham once he is practicing. 

Update: I forgot to add that Patrick Peterson was not working on punts. It was Ted Ginn and John Brown. We might have seen the end of punt returns for Peterson, except for special scenarios.