Arizona Cardinals News & Rumors

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/23/21

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

  • Signed: K Dominik Eberle

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

  • Activated from COVID-19 list: G Kyle Hinton
  • Placed on COVID-19 list: CB Tye Smith
  • Signed: RB A.J. Rose

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Signed: OT Casey Tucker

Seattle Seahawks

  • Signed: LB Lakiem Williams

Washington Football Team

  • Released: QB Jordan Ta’amu

NFL COVID List Updates: 12/22/21

We’ve compiled a list of players who were placed or activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list today. In some instances (including Christian McCaffrey and Travis Etienne), players activated from the list remain on IR:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Placed on list: T Le’Raven Clark

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

J.J. Watt Addresses Recovery Timetable

Off to a strong start in his first season with the Cardinals, J.J. Watt went down with a barrage of injuries in late October. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year delved into his timetable Wednesday.

Watt has undergone shoulder surgery, but the Cardinals have pushed back on the notion he is done for the year. Watt is now doing the same, though the timetable he did reveal will make a postseason return a long-odds prospect.

They tell me I’m done, I have to get surgery and it’s going to take four to six months,” Watt said during a YouTube interview with Houston teenager Maanav Gupta (via AZCardinals.com). “I’m sitting there and I can easily pout and easily say, ‘Woe is me, four to six months, I’ll do what I have to do.’ But instead I said, ‘Nah, I’m not going to accept that.'”

The 11th-year defensive lineman said his rehab is going “much better than we could’ve hoped or expected,” but he stopped short of revealing when he could potentially come back. Watt went down during the Cards’ Week 7 game, on Oct. 24. He suffered a torn labrum, bicep, rotator cuff and a separated shoulder. Even beating his timetable by a month would mean a late-January return. Given the way the Cardinals’ past two games have gone, it is obviously no given they are still playing by the divisional or championship rounds.

A quicker-than-expected comeback would not be out of the ordinary for Watt, who returned from a pectoral tear to play in the Texans’ two playoff games in 2019. Although Watt has only played 341 defensive snaps, Pro Football Focus slotted him as a top-10 interior D-lineman this season. Watt is signed through the 2022 season.

Updated 2022 NFL Draft Order

Have you been waiting all day for Tuesday night? Thanks to COVID rescheduling, we still have two games to go in Week 15. While the Eagles, Rams, and the Washington Football Team are all jockeying for postseason berths/positioning, the Seahawks are — for all intents and purposes — out of playoff contention.

If the season ended today, the Seahawks would own a top ten pick…that is, if they owned it. The Jets, who hold the Seahawks’ 2022 first-round pick by way of the Jamal Adams trade, will be cheering for the Rams tonight.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order will be determined by the inverted 2021 standings, plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. For playoff teams, the order is determined by their postseason outcome and regular season record.

Before the games begin, here’s a look at the currently projected 2022 NFL Draft Order:

  1. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-12)
  2. Detroit Lions (2-11-1)
  3. Houston Texans (3-11)
  4. New York Jets (3-11)
  5. New York Giants (via Bears)
  6. New York Giants (4-10)
  7. Carolina Panthers (5-9)
  8. New York Jets (via Seahawks)
  9. Atlanta Falcons (6-8)
  10. Philadelphia Eagles (6-7)
  11. Washington Football Team (6-7)
  12. Philadelphia Eagles (via Dolphins)
  13. Denver Broncos (7-7)
  14. New Orleans Saints (7-7)
  15. Cleveland Browns (7-7)
  16. Las Vegas Raiders (7-7)
  17. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6-1)
  18. Baltimore Ravens (8-6)
  19. Minnesota Vikings (7-7)*
  20. Buffalo Bills (8-6)*
  21. Miami Dolphins (via 49ers)*
  22. Los Angeles Chargers (8-6)*
  23. Philadelphia Eagles (via Colts)*
  24. Detroit Lions (via Rams)*
  25. Cincinnati Bengals (8-6)*
  26. Tennessee Titans (9-5)*
  27. Arizona Cardinals (10-4)*
  28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-4)*
  29. New England Patriots (9-5)*
  30. Dallas Cowboys (10-4)*
  31. Kansas City Chiefs (10-4)*
  32. Green Bay Packers (11-3)*

* = Playoffs

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/21/21

Today’s taxi squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Rams

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: G Nathan Gilliam

Minor NFL Transactions:  12/21/21

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawk

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Football Team

Minor NFL Transactions:  12/20/21

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

  • Promoted: OL Jacob Capra

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Washington Football Team

  • Promoted: OT Sam Cosmi

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/18/21

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Updated 2022 NFL Draft Order

The Chiefs (9-4) and Chargers (8-5) are getting set to kick off Week 15 in a matchup that could decide the AFC West crown. Meanwhile, more than one-quarter of the NFL’s teams have either been mathematically or effectively eliminated from playoff contention.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order will be determined by the inverted 2021 standings, plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. For playoff teams, the order is determined by their postseason outcome and regular season record. (Ex: Washington would own the No. 19 pick if they were eliminated in the Wild Card round with the worst record of the group.)

With that in mind, here’s a look at the currently projected 2022 NFL Draft Order:

1. Detroit Lions (1-11-1)
2. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-11)
3. Houston Texans (2-11)
4. New York Jets (3-10)
5. New York Giants (via Bears)
6. New York Giants (4-9)
7. New York Jets (via Seahawks)
8. Carolina Panthers (5-8)
9. Atlanta Falcons (6-7)
10. Philadelphia Eagles (via Dolphins)
11. Philadelphia Eagles (6-7)
12. Minnesota Vikings (6-7)
13. New Orleans Saints (6-7)
14. Las Vegas Raiders (6-7)
15. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6-1)
16. Denver Broncos (7-6)
17. Cincinnati Bengals (7-6)
18. Cleveland Browns (7-6)
19. Washington Football Team (6-7)*
20. Buffalo Bills (7-6)*
21. Philadelphia Eagles (via Colts)*
22. Miami Dolphins (via 49ers)*
23. Los Angeles Chargers (8-5)*
24. Detroit Lions (via Rams)*
25. Baltimore Ravens (8-5)*
26. Dallas Cowboys (9-4)*
27. Kansas City Chiefs (9-4)*
28. Arizona Cardinals (10-3)*
29. Tennessee Titans (9-4)*
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-3)*
31. New England Patriots (9-4)*
32. Green Bay Packers (10-3)*

* = Playoffs

Cardinals To Place DeAndre Hopkins On IR

DeAndre Hopkins will have knee surgery to repair his torn MCL (Twitter links via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The Cardinals will place the star wide receiver on injured reserve with the expectation that he will miss the remainder of the regular season. But, as previously reported, Hopkins could return after roughly six weeks, meaning that he could return for the later stages of the playoffs. ,

Hopkins met with Dr. Neal ElAttrache this week and learned that surgery would be his only choice. After further testing, the injury proved be just as bad as it initially appeared. Sandwiched between two Rams defenders in the end zone, Hopkins saw both defenders land on his legs, forcing him to sit out for the end of Monday night’s game.

The five-time Pro Bowler also missed time earlier this year with a hamstring injury. Now shut down for the rest of the year, his second Cardinals campaign will end with 42 catches for 572 yards and eight touchdowns. Last year, in a full 16-game slate, Hopkins posted 115 catches for 1,407 yards and six scores.

The Cardinals, sans Hopkins, will look to clinch a playoff spot this week with a win over the Lions. Of course, even without the three-time All-Pro, they still have plenty of weapons in Christian KirkZach ErtzA.J. Green, and rookie Rondale Moore.