Which Louisville football seniors, upperclassmen, will return in 2022?

With the 2021 season officially in the rearview mirror, the Louisville football team is back at work.

The Cardinals have added two coaches to the staff with strength coach Brian Sowders joining fresh off a national championship with Georgia. The newest addition is Wesley McGriff filling the co-defensive coordinator role and working as a secondary coach.

But what about the roster? Most of Louisville's super seniors are moving on, highlighted by the departure of C.J. Avery and Tabarius Peterson, neither had anymore eligibility.

There are others, though, that may choose to enter the transfer portal, return to Louisville or retire from football altogether. Here's a look at the decisions made by Louisville's seniors.

Seniors who are leaving

Shai Werts: The Georgia Southern transfer is out of eligibility and will not return to the Cardinals next year. He didn't play in the bowl game and had just four receptions for 23 yards this season. He missed some time in the beginning of the season, but never truly made the switch from quarterback to wide receiver.

CJ Avery: Avery leaves with a strong legacy at Louisville. He tallied 349 tackles in his five years. Beloved by Louisville fans, Avery is going to spend the spring working out for the NFL Draft and is expected to be back for Pro Day.

Tabarius Peterson: Like Avery, Peterson was also out of eligibility after using his extra COVID season this year. He plans to take his chances at the next level as well and will likely return for Pro Day.

Mitch Hall: An under appreciated loss here, but Hall leaves as the Cardinals safety net at long snapper. He played in 55 games for Louisville in five years.

Maurice Burkley: Burkley has been a mainstay in the running backs room for the Cardinals. Although he doesn't have eye-popping numbers — 325 rushing yards and two touchdowns — he was a steady hand Louisville could go to if injuries or COVID popped up in the locker room.

Cole Bentley: Bentley was a question mark entering the offseason, but he was out eligibility. He walked on Senior Day, as well. Bentley has been a key cog on the offensive line playing in 52 games and will now have to be replaced.

Ryan Chalifoux: This was expected. Chalifoux was a strong leader behind the scenes for the Cardinals but he walked on Senior Day and the kicking position is already a question mark this offseason.

Jack Fagot: Fagot was somebody I thought might return. He came into his own at outside linebacker this season, tallying 60 tackles after the position switch from safety. I thought he would return for one more year and make a run at the NFL, but he chose not to. Now that leaves a spot for Marvin Dallas to step in, who, in his first start, had an interception against Duke.

Jacques Turner: A transfer last season, Turner was in the rotation at nose tackle. He will leave after tallying 17 tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss, and one sack last season.

Derek Dorsey: Dorsey has been at Louisville since redshirting in 2016. He's been a rotation player on the defensive line and tallied 43 tackles and 1.5 sacks in his time with the Cardinals.

Qwynnterrio Cole: Cole arrived at Louisville and became an impact player at safety. He was second on the team with 86 tackles and added five tackles for loss and five pass breakups. He's going to try his hand at the NFL and should find his way onto a roster somewhere, even if he's not drafted.

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Seniors returning

Josh Johnson: The lone super senior to return, Johnson has been working out with the team since they began again on Jan.10. Johnson hasn't made a formal announcement about his return, but Louisville needs all the wide receiver depth it can get. He's been devastated by injuries in his career but had 16 receptions for 125 yards this season. He'll return with the fourth-most receptions on the team next season.

Notable upperclassmen returning

Caleb Chandler: Chandler is another player who hasn't made a formal announcement but has been at workouts. He's coming off an All-ACC year at left guard for Louisville, and there were rumblings he might've gone pro this offseason. As of Thursday morning, though, he is with Louisville. If he does return that's a massive spot for the Cardinals, who will return an experienced offensive line once again.

Malik Cunningham: This is old news, but still the most important returning player. Cunningham will come back with high expectations and a lot of national hype after throwing for 2,941 yards and rushing for more than 1,000 yards last season.

Kenderick Duncan Jr.: Expect Duncan back next season. An impact transfer at the safety spot, Duncan is looking to build off his 76 tackles, four pass breakups and one interception from last season. He didn't play in the bowl game after having foot surgery but should be healthy this season.

Monty Montgomery: Montgomery will return after a season-ending knee injury. Expect him to be an impact player at linebacker for the Cardinals after leading the team in sacks the previous two seasons.

Kei'Trel Clark: Like Montgomery, Clark will also be back after a season-ending injury. And Louisville desperately needs him after losing Greedy Vance and Kani Walker to the transfer portal. That's another All-ACC player on defense returning.

Yasir Abdullah: The biggest returning player on defense is probably Abdullah. He hasn't formally announced his return, but he's been active on social media talking about the goals of the defense. Last season he was second in the ACC in tackles for loss and sacks behind ACC Defensive Player of the Year Jermaine Johnson.

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Players in the transfer portal

Wide receiver, Jordan Watkins: A Louisville native, Watkins had 529 yards and four touchdowns this season. He was expected to take a major step as the Cardinals leading receiver returning, but transferred and has already landed at Ole Miss.

Wide receiver, Justin Marshall: Marshall, the Cardinals' big and physical outside receiver, entered the portal after 322 yards and one touchdown this season. Marshall hasn't found a landing spot yet.

Corner back, Greedy Vance: Louisville's No. 2 corner, Vance decided to transfer and landed at Florida State. He had seven pass breakups last season and was making strides to be a consistent impact player next season. His transfer was a surprise, along with Kani Walker.

Corner back, Kani Walker: With Vance gone, Walker was expected to jump into the corner back rotation this year, but decided to transfer last week. He has yet to find a landing spot.

Running back, Aidan Robbins: Robbins, a Louisville native, was buried in the running back depth chart. He tallied 51 yards and one touchdown in three years.

Wide receiver, Demetrius Cannon: Cannon couldn't find his way onto the field in his freshman season. He didn't play in the bowl game, which was a hint that he would enter the transfer portal.

Defensive lineman, Ja'Darien Boykin: Boykin was a four-star recruit in 2019, but never turned into the prospect the staff wanted up front. He had just six tackles this season.

Outside linebacker, Nick Okeke: Okeke had 19 tackles this season, but entered the portal this offseason. He finished his career with 115 tackles for the Cardinals.

Running back, Hassan Hall: Hall struggled with ball security and the emergence of Trevion Cooley pushed him down the depth chart. He transferred during the season and just announced he will play at Georgia Tech next season.

Offensive lineman, Desmond Daniels: Daniels, a tight end turned to an offensive lineman, didn't play a game for Louisville.

Cameron Teague Robinson CTeagueRob@gannett.com; Twitter: @cj_teague;

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville football: Which seniors are returning in 2022 for the Cards