NFL preseason 2015: Carson Palmer likely not to play all first half vs. Raiders

When preseason game 3 rolls around, it is usually the closest thing to a real football game. The starters play longer, sometimes coming out into the second half.

That might not be exactly how things go on Sunday night for the Arizona Cardinals, when they play the Oakland Raiders on the road.

Head coach Bruce Arians talked about the plans for playing time in his morning media session.

"We're going to look at how we practice this week and gauge the conditioning of our team," he said. "I don't think mentally we need to do that, it's more for conditioning for playing, so you can come out in the second half and play a little bit, come out of the locker room and all those things."

But it probably won't be all the starters that do that.

For one, quarterback Carson Palmer probably doesn't need it, so Drew Stanton will likely get some work late in in the first half.

"We'll gauge individual guy," Arians said about the rest of the starters. "Some guys might play longer, some guys may play shorter."

As for all the injuries around  the league, Arians downplayed it. The notion of cutting practice time or preseason games didn't seem to be the answer. He talked about how the non-contact injuries are the worst, but those you can do training in the offseason or "practicing against air." He did say coaches who have a young quarterback need all four preseason games. If you have a veteran starter, probably two is all you need. But he didn't seem to think there was a need to cut down on play or practice, as injuries "are just part of the game."