Spacing out the intensity of the days is intentional. If each day was a high intensity practice, there would be burnout ahead of a grueling season. Conner, the leader Gannon has proclaimed as “the blueprint,” said he’s “easily adaptable” when it comes to the schedule.
“I’m the type of guy that, you tell me what needs to be done, I’ll try to get it done,” Conner said. “Where do I got to be at? What time? How are we going to do it? What’s the speed and tempo? I’m all for it.”
In Gannon’s second year at the helm, the players entered camp with an idea of how to maximize their opportunities. There have been some tweaks made by the coaching staff since this time last year, Gannon said, with a lot of work put in behind the scenes from the top down.
Sean Murphy-Bunting, a presumed starter and the lone veteran in the cornerback room, is entering his sixth season in the league. Having slowly been introduced to how Gannon operates, the way practices are coordinated has been a pleasant difference.
“It’s structured in a way where we’re trying to protect the players and make sure that everybody’s healthy going into the season,” Murphy-Bunting said. “It’s been good for my body and good for my mental. I think that’s going to help our team be in the best position that we can be.”
Fortunately for the Cardinals, every player was practicing on Wednesday, including offensive lineman Jon Gaines II. The interior lineman has been rehabbing from a knee injury in the 2023 preseason finale. Gannon said that Gaines will be a limited participant early on in camp.
Whether it’s Conner’s eighth training camp, Murphy-Bunting’s sixth, or Melton’s first practice in his first training camp, the desire to see growth is underway.
“I’m already making less mistakes than I made in OTAs and just getting better with the guys,” Melton said. “It was a low day, but you could feel it in the air, like it’s go time now.”
