JOHNSTOWN — The Arizona Cardinals said goodbye to former Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart on Saturday.

A day earlier it was Cody Brown, the team’s second-round pick from 2009, who didn’t make the cut.

But LaRod Stephens-Howling still has a home in the desert.

The Greater Johnstown and Pitt graduate, who was told for years that he was too small to play at the highest level, has established himself as a key component as the Cardinals.

He was one of the team’s top special teams players as a rookie last year, and the 5-foot-7, 185-pound running back expects to play an expanded role in the offense this year.

But first, he had to make the team.

“I felt a little better just from being around the team last year,” Stephens-Howling said of he approached the NFL’s cut-down day. “But it’s still a blessing you don’t want to take it for granted. The feeling in the locker room is terrible. ... Guys that you think will be fighting with you on Sundays, you see they’re not going to be. You feel bad for everyone that didn’t make the team that you became close with.”

One of those players was Leinart. The 10th overall selection in the 2006 draft, Leinart had a chance to take over as Arizona’s starting quarterback when Kurt Warner retired after last season.

Instead, former Browns quarterback Derek Anderson claimed the starting job in camp and Leinart, who was due to make $2.5 million this season, became expendable.

“It’s always a surprise move when you see a player that’s been here being released, but it’s something you have no control over,” Stephens-Howling said. “You just have to worry about the things you can control. That’s the business side of it.”

Though Stephens-Howling said he wasn’t particularly close to Leinart, he was sad to see him go.

“We’re teammates,” he said. “We didn’t really hang out outside of football, but it’s somebody you’ve been in the wars with, so you’re going to care for that person.”

But Stephens-Howling is pleased to have the quarterback controversy that has followed the Cardinals during the preseason come to a conclusion.

“He had a good battle,” Stephens-Howling said of Anderson. “I’m just excited because everything’s on the table and we know who we’re going with, and we’re just excited to move forward.”

Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, the former Steelers offensive coordinator who nearly beat Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLIII, said that while some of Arizona’s high-profile picks haven’t panned out, the team makes up for it by finding diamonds in the rough.

“I think that success in the draft is one thing,” Whisenhunt said. “It’s a little bit of an inexact science. If you can be successful with your free agents and later picks in your draft, that’s what develops the core of your team and what gives you a chance to be successful.”

One of the players that Whisenhunt pointed to was Stephens-Howling, a seventh-round pick in 2009.

“I look at where our team is right now, and I look at some of our later picks and some of our free agents,” Whisenhunt said.

“That’s the reason that I feel like we’re better football team. We’ve got Steve Breaston; LaRod Stephens-Howling; Tim Hightower; Brandon Keith, starting at right tackle; we’ve got Ben Patrick as a tight end. Those were all later-round picks.”

Stephens-Howling said that the Cardinals have put performance ahead of paychecks.

“It’s good that this team actually put their faith in lower-round picks and it wasn’t about the money that they invested in upper-round picks,” he said. “A lot of teams, free agents and seventh-rounders don’t have a shot because there is no money invested in them. It’s good that our team was able to do that. It’s exciting to see free agents and lower-round picks come to camp and ball out when nobody gave them a chance.”

Stephens-Howling was one of those players a year ago. He famously became emotional when talking with reporters after the draft a year ago because of he had worked so hard to overcome perceptions about his size. And he made a quick impression with the Cardinals as a standout player on special teams. He went on to lead Arizona in special teams tackles and was the primary kick returner. He was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week after taking a kickoff 99 yards for a score and downing three punts inside the Tennessee 5-yard line in November.

He was named to the PFW/PFWA All-Rookie team and the USA Today All-Joe squad as a special teamer.

This preseason Stephens-Howling had five carries for 30 yards, four kickoff returns for 95 yards and two solo tackles despite suffering a concussion against Chicago on Aug. 28. He expects to return to practice on Monday and play in the team’s opener against St. Louis on Sept. 12.

And he plans to be on the field for more than just special teams and as a third-down back.

“We’ve been trying to work in some more plays, and I’m more excited to see it. I’m excited to get into the season and get going,” Stephens-Howling said.

“I’m expecting to be more involved, not just third downs. Hopefully I’ll be on the field more.”

But with roles on the Arizona kickoff, kickoff-return, punt and punt-return units, he is being touted as a possible Pro Bowler for his special teams abilities.

“That’s a blessing,” he said. “It’s something that I never think about – having my name and Pro Bowl being mentioned in the same sentence. It just makes me want to work that much harder.”