The Cardinals took Jonathan Cooper in the first round of the 2013 draft with designs on him taking over as a starting guard for years to come.
Things haven’t worked out that way. Cooper broke his leg in the preseason of his rookie year, which caused him to miss the entire season, and made 11 starts over the last two years. Nine of those starts came to open the 2015 season, but Cooper was relegated to the bench the rest of the way because of a knee injury and because coach Bruce Arians felt Ted Larsen was playing better.
Larsen is set to become a free agent next week, but Cooper’s best chance of landing a starting spot may not come at the originally intended position. Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic and Mike Jurecki of FOX Sports 910 in Phoenix have reported that the team is considering moving Cooper to center and Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that is indeed the plan in Arizona.
Lyle Sendlein started all but one game at center for the Cardinals last season, but, like Larsen, he’s headed for free agency. A.Q. Shipley, who has starting experience with the Colts and Ravens, is under contract for next season.