The Arizona Cardinals report to training camp on July 22 and begin the process of preparing for the regular season, forming the roster and determining starting jobs and roles on the team.

Leading up to the start of camp, we will take a look at every player on the offseason roster, their background, their contract, their play in 2024, questions they face and their roster outlook.

Advertisement

Next up is outside linebacker Zaven Collins.

Zaven Collins background, 2024 season

The Cardinals selected Collins from Tulsa with the 16th overall choice in the 2021 draft. He began his career as an inside linebacker and then moved to the edge when Jonathan Gannon became head coach in 2023.

He started all 17 games last season and played 602 defensive snaps (55 percent) while adding nine snaps on special teams. Collins was the team leader with 5.0 sacks and tied for second with seven quarterback hits. He had 57 tackles (33 solo) and his seven tackles for loss ranked third on the team. Collins added two forced fumbles and a pass defensed.

Advertisement

Zaven Collins 2025 contract details, cap hit

Early in last year’s training camp, Collins signed a two-year contract extension through the 2026 season that included a $5.1 million signing bonus. His salary this year is $3.8 million with $3.25 million guaranteed and the salary-cap charge is $6.055 million.

2025 questions, roster outlook

Defensive coordinator Nick Rallis likes to rotate the edge rushers and that will surely be the case this season after the addition of Josh Sweat, the return of injured BJ Ojulari and selection of Jordan Burch in the third round of the draft. There is also Baron Browning and second-year edge Xavier Thomas. The question is how many snaps there will be for Collins. That total might not be affected significantly because of his ability against the run.

Advertisement

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Arizona Cardinals training camp roster preview: OLB Zaven Collins