Arians distressed by play of receivers

Aug 15, 2017 - 12:54 AM GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians hasn't really gone off in training camp yet with too many harsh comments or stinging critiques of his players. On Monday, however, he was clearly peeved with what he saw out of his team in practice two days after a 20-10 preseason victory over the visiting Raiders.

The defense looked sharp, he said, but other than quarterback Carson Palmer and wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Jaron Brown, the rest of the offense looked "very lethargic."

Arians saved his most damning words for the other wide receivers, saying, "I must have been seeing things back in the spring when I saw we had 12 guys that can play in the NFL. I think we might have two. We'll look around and see who's available."

It's doubtful any of the top six candidates to make the roster will be released. Arians might have just been trying to light a fire under the second- and third-team wideouts and a couple of tight ends as well. But it won't be a surprise if one or two of the lower-end receivers find themselves out a job during the next handful of days and the team decides to bring in a fresh face.

That would be yet another way to send a message to the overall unit.

"It's not effort," he said. "It's assignments, catching the ball, the main things receivers have to do. They're not doing (it)."

After hearing of Arians' comments, J.J. Nelson said he and the other receivers will use that as motivation to come out and practice better on Tuesday.

"We're not playing up to our abilities so we've just got to continue to get better," Nelson said. "We've still got two or three more weeks, two or three more preseason games, so there's still a lot of film to be made out there on the field."

Arians said there were signs for the past week or so that the receivers weren't playing up to par.

"Yes, it was better in the game," he said. "It was not very good in practice last week or to start this week. And they've been warned."

Notes: Left tackle D.J. Humphries continues to miss practice because of a nagging hamstring injury. He didn't participate in any workouts last week, was held out of Saturday's preseason game against the visiting Raiders and also didn't practice on Monday. Backup John Wetzel has been filling in for him with the first-team offense. ... Inside linebacker Josh Bynes, recently signed as a free agent because of injuries at the position, led the Cardinals with a team-high seven tackles in Saturday's 20-10 win over the Raiders. He also was credited with half a sack, a forced fumble and one pass defensed. "I was extremely pleased with Josh Bynes ... who we signed off the street a few weeks ago," Cardinals general manager Steve Keim said Monday during his weekly appearance on the team's flagship radio station. "I thought he played very well, other than there was a play where he had to carry a seam route against a tight end - he got a ball caught on him. But he's been a guy that came in, picked up our defense extremely quick, has really good range and straight-line speed. He's physical at the point of attack. He's got some cover ability and he's got some length. ... (We) saw him on tape, thought he was a guy we could bring in off the street and could potentially have a shot at making this roster and compete for a spot. I thought the other night he played very well." ... Wide receiver John Brown continues to miss time with a quadriceps injury and it's clearly agitating Arians. "It is a concern; he's not available," Arians said. "You're only as good when you're available." Told that seems to be becoming a trend with Brown, that he can't stay healthy, Arians said, "Yes it has."