I'm sorry, this is all complete spin after the fact. Mouth of Sauron, Darren Urban in camp wasn't talking about a plan to "red-shirt" this kid. In fact, here's EXACTLY what he said:
"A hyperextended knee sidelined Humphries the past week, but he was back practicing with the team at training camp on Tuesday.
The Cardinals have depth at offensive line.
But a first-round pick is expected to play sooner rather than later, and whether Humphries can beat out incumbent Bobby Massie or Humphries would be needed if Massie was unavailable, it’s imperative for him to be prepared. Bradley Sowell and Earl Watford have also gotten extended reps at right tackle while Humphries has been hurt."
http://www.azcardinals.com/news-and...On-Track/0e41faad-afaa-4766-945b-7775c238c047
NONE of the above sounds like the plan all season was to have this kid on the inactive list all season long. Urban is as tapped in as anyone covering the team and above he's not only talking about him playing sooner rather then later, but talking about whether or not he can actually beat out Massie.
And none of these comments a week later make any sense if the plan all along was to redshirt him:
"Arians said Monday Humphries will work at left tackle this week, allowing Earl Watford to get snaps at right tackle as Watford tries to battle Bradley Sowell for the starting job. Humphries needs the left-side work, Arians said, because it’ll be necessary in his immediate role.
“He’s going to be a backup tackle for us,” Arians said, “
so if he’s going to dress on Sundays, he’s got to be able to play both.”
That’s a far cry from the hope that Humphries might be able to beat out Bobby Massie as the starting right tackle. The Cardinals are fortunate because they have options beyond Humphries."
https://www.azcardinals.com/news-an...umphries/edca28eb-d41d-4632-8c82-3991a63cd70e
Again, Arians is literally talking about him suiting up on Sundays... this year. And Urban is lamenting that there's no hope Humphries can beat out Massie, implying there was hope at some point in Cardinals land.
And then there's this... from min-camp:
"There’s plenty of attention on Humphries, who is not only the team’s top pick, but one making the transition from left to right tackle. It is his best shot at making the starting lineup -- Jared Veldheer is entrenched at left tackle – where he will battle incumbent Bobby Massie for the starting gig.
While the competition is sure to be chronicled closely, coach Bruce Arians isn’t overly concerned with Humphries’ development.
“In the perfect world, he’d back up this year and learn how to play in the NFL behind two quality players,” Arians said. “There’s no need for him to jump out there and start for us, but he has a great future.”
http://www.azcardinals.com/news-and...irst-Day/e50d1aa1-4137-4cb1-a532-57d4f0bfbae9
Again, they're talking about him possibly battling for a starting spot, but even if that's not the case, at worst, they wanted him to be a back-up.
The idea that he would never even make the active roster had to be disappointing to everyone on the team. I don't know how anyone can really believe otherwise. Believing comments made AFTER a season about the "plan to redshirt" fly in the face of what we were hearing the entire lead up and through training camp.