Often you can tell who is still fighting for a spot on the roster based on the snaps they get in the second half of the final preseason game. In the outside linebacker room, rookie Xavier Thomas didn’t play. Victor Dimukeje got some work and was done early. But Jesse Luketa and Cam Thomas were there the entire game.

“I’m exhausted,” Luketa admitted.

They both had a sack – it was the third in the last two games for Thomas – and these two guys from the last draft class who not Monti Ossenfort hopes they stick around. The position is interesting, with inside linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. able to give the Cardinals some snaps on the edge and perhaps someone like Darius Robinson (once he’s back on the field) occasionally moving from the defensive line to the outside.

Zaven Collins and Dennis Gardeck start. Thomas and Dimukeje are in. So, with BJ Ojulari out for the season, can the Cardinals keep five at the position, or even six?

This is the drama that will unfold in the coming days.

“I’m going to keep my phone on,” Luketa said. “I feel like I did everything I could do.”

— I don’t know what would have happened to undrafted rookie Xavier Weaver if Zay Jones hadn’t been suspended, but the Cardinals now have a spot at wide receiver and Weaver might have a shot at it. He can help in the return game, and his 43-yard catch Sunday after a broken play/scramble drill and his speed could help this team.

— If you want to get an idea of ​​the final practice game and how the Cardinals approached it, this was the starting offensive line, from left tackle to right tackle: Jackson Barton, Elijah Wilkinson, Trystan Colon, Jon Gaines II, Christian Jones.

— Someone compared the deluge of injuries the Cardinals suffered to the 2000 preseason game at Minnesota on that awful Metrodome field. (That was my first season covering the Cards.) That was even worse, because starting wideout Rob Moore tore his ACL and there were a few other ligament injuries. But it was a bad day to be a Jones — Christian (knee), Elijah (ankle) and Tony (shoulder) all left the game — and QB Desmond Ridder is in the concussion protocol. Safety Darren Hall (hip), who had filed a lawsuit to make the team, also went. We’ll see how that ultimately affects Tuesday’s picks.

— Matt Prater made a 50-yard field goal, and even as he ages, he’s still the king of it. Prater missed (and left alone) a 55-yarder early in the game, but he’s proven he’ll be there when the Cards need him.

— It may be a footnote to most, but rookie tight end Sage Surratt injured his ankle when tackle Christian Jones fell on it at the end of a running play. Surratt was standing near the pile when Jones rolled, and it didn’t look good. Would Surratt make this team? No. But he’d rather be healthy to try to find another spot to play, and the Cardinals would have preferred to release him outright to do that. His situation is complicated now, and it’s another layer from the final preseason game.

— In the battle for QB2, I’m not sure much has changed from what we’ve seen. Clayton Tune’s numbers were better. But he also got sacked three times, bringing his total to eight total sacks in just over six quarters of play. Some of that is the offensive line, but it’s a big number. And after Ridder got hurt, Tune had a Pick-6.

That’s it for this afternoon. There will be a lot of news in the coming days. Time to get to the regular season.