Adams, Dulin, Ellefson, Galeai, Washington and Willis each have until Nov. 30 to be activated from IR. Should they not be activated, they would revert to season-ending IR. The Colts and Vikings are in solid shape regarding activations, having only used one apiece. The Bears, Cardinals, 49ers and Packers have used three such moves apiece. Teams are allotted eight injury activations this season.
The Cowboys dangled Basham in trades before last week’s deadline, but no takers emerged. While the team cut the other D-lineman they were hoping to deal — Trysten Hill, who has since been claimed by the Cardinals — they ended up using one of their injury activations on Basham. A former Colts third-round pick, Basham notched 3.5 sacks during his first Cowboys season last year. He played in one game this season (Week 1) before going down with a quadriceps injury. The Cowboys, who have Tyron Smith and James Washington on their IR-return radar, have used two injury activations this season.
As they attempt to pick up the pieces from a disappointing first half, the Cardinals must begin doing so without one of their best players. Budda Baker will be forced out of the lineup due to a high ankle sprain, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
The Cardinals are hoping the All-Pro safety can come back in two or three weeks. Arizona’s Week 13 bye could be a factor here. The Cardinals play the Rams, 49ers and Chargers ahead of that week.
Arizona will also be without starting guard Will Hernandez for the time being. While Hernandez does not have a definitive timetable, Kliff Kingsbury did not sound too optimistic about the offseason addition returning soon. Kingsbury said (via AZCardinals.com’s Darren Urban, on Twitter) he is hopeful this is not a season-ending pectoral injury. This will stall a solid bounce-back season from the former Giants starter.
This will be relatively new territory for Baker. The sixth-year defender has missed three games throughout his career. He has been one of the best draft picks of Steve Keim‘s GM tenure, making four Pro Bowls and becoming a two-time first-team All-Pro.
The Cardinals have both Baker and Jalen Thompson signed long term, with the former tied to a four-year, $59MM extension. This certainly stands to limit Arizona’s pass defense — one a subaverage cornerback situation already impacts. Dropping their sixth game of the season, the Cardinals exited Week 9 as the league’s 26th-ranked defense.
Signed to a low-cost deal this offseason, Hernandez became an instant starter opposite Justin Pugh. Despite a limited market, the four-year Giants starter has provided some stability up front for Arizona, which has seen injuries decimate its interior offensive front. Pugh is out for the season, while Max Garcia has missed the past two Arizona games. The eighth-year veteran could return in Week 10, per Kingsbury, and will be an option to replace Hernandez. Kingsbury said center Rodney Hudson is not expected to make his return in Week 10. Hudson, who contemplated retirement this offseason, has not played since Week 4. Billy Price is likely to start at center again against the Rams.
Sharpe has bounced in recent years, and the 49ers will be his second team in 2022. The 27-year-old initially signed with the Bears in May, but did not see the field in Chicago. He will provide depth for a San Francisco team which has had fellow veteran Willie Sneadsee time on and off the taxi squad.
The Cardinals have been without their top running back for the past three weeks, but their ground game will receive a boost today. James Conneris among the notable players who will be active for Arizona’s Week 9 contest against the Seahawks, as noted (on Twitter) by team reported Darren Urban.
Conner suffered a rib injury in Week 5, and it was expected to cause a multi-week absence. That dealt a blow to the Cardinals’ running game, as the 27-year-old had once again operated as the lead back following his highly-productive debut Arizona season last year. The former Steeler was named a Pro Bowler after scoring 18 total touchdowns and recording 1,127 scrimmage yards.
Things have not gone as well in 2022, however. Conner had yet to top 55 rushing yards in a game prior to the injury, averaging 3.7 yards per carry and finding the endzone just once. Overall, the Cardinals’ offense underperformed during the early portion of the season, as DeAndre Hopkinsremained sidelined due to his PED suspension. That led head coach Kliff Kingsburyto acknowledge that he would consider ceding play-calling duties.
Since then, backup Darrel Williamshas suffered an MCL sprain, and is currently on IR. That, coupled with Conner’s absence, opened the door to former seventh-rounder Eno Benjamintaking on lead back duties. He totaled 223 scrimmage yards over the past three weeks, but a healthy Conner would likely provide a boost to an Arizona offense averaging 116 yards per game on the ground, ranking them mid-pack.
Conner was limited throughout the week, leading to his being listed as a game-time decision on the weekend. That, in turn, suggests that he will have a limited role for at least today’s game while splitting snaps with Benjamin. Still, his return will be a welcomed sight as the Cardinals look to move out of the NFC West basement. After missing last week’s contest, left tackle D.J. Humphrieswill also be active.
The 3-5 Cardinals are presently in last place in their division and are on the outside of the NFC playoff picture. It is of little surprise, then, that Arizona GM Steve Keim received a “flurry of trade calls” from teams interested in wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins prior to Tuesday’s trade deadline (via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). We do not know who placed the calls, but given their reported interest in other receivers, clubs like the Cowboys, Packers, and even the division-rival Rams might have checked in.
The leaguewide desire to add receiving help was on full display at the deadline, as Chase Claypool, Calvin Ridley, Kadarius Toney, and T.J. Hockenson all changed teams, and notable pass catchers like Brandin Cooks and Jerry Jeudy were the subject of trade discussions as well. At present, Hopkins is better than any of those players, and he is under club control through 2024 with no guaranteed money left on his contract, so Keim could have demanded a hefty return if he were interested in swinging a deal.
Hopkins, 30, has been terrific since returning from his six-game PED suspension. In two games this year, he has caught 22 balls for 262 yards and a score, and quarterback Kyler Murray is a noticeably better passer with Hopkins in the lineup. The Cardinals acquired Marquise Brown in a draft-day trade in April in the hopes that he and Hopkins would form a formidable 1-2 punch when Hopkins got back on the field, but Brown is on IR with a foot injury and is not expected back for a few more weeks. Following Brown’s injury, Keim traded for Panthers wideout Robbie Anderson, who has seen just 19 snaps in two games with the Cardinals as he continues to get acclimated to Kliff Kingsbury‘s offense.
When healthy, that offense — which has been without RB James Conner for the last three weeks and which was without WR Rondale Moore for the first three games of the campaign — can be a potent one. And the NFC West is not exactly a powerhouse this year, so rather than deal his top playmaker, Keim stood pat and will now look to see if Hopkins can help his club claw back onto the postseason chase.
However, Rapoport observed that it’s unclear whether Keim was unwilling to trade Hopkins, or if other teams simply didn’t meet his asking price. Hopkins, who is due base salaries of $19.5MM in 2023 and $14.9MM in 2024 — eminently reasonable figures in light of the exploding receiver market — could be on the trade block this offseason. Indeed, while his salaries are manageable, his cap charges on Arizona’s books are significant ($30.8MM in 2023 and $26.2MM in 2024) due to his prorated bonus money.
Housing the defending Super Bowl champions and the conference’s runner-up, this year’s NFC West was set to feature another chapter in the reinvigorated Rams-49ers rivalry. But both would-be contenders have offered inconsistency that has further muddled the NFC.
As the Sean McVay–Kyle Shanahan series has seen injuries and roster deficiencies cloud its sixth season, the Seahawks have gone from a team projected to be close to a top-five 2023 draft choice to one with legitimate aspirations at a home playoff game. With the Cardinals also within two games of first place — ahead of a key Hawks-Cards Week 9 tilt — this division still features many questions at the midseason point.
Winners of this division three times during McVay’s first five seasons, the Rams have been unable to generate much offense involving anyone beyond Cooper Kupp. After Andrew Whitworth retired, Los Angeles re-signed his backup — Joe Noteboom — to a three-year, $40MM deal and brought back center Brian Allen. Both Noteboom (out for the season) and Allen (five missed games) have seen injuries define their 2022 slates. The team let three-year guard starter Austin Corbett walk in free agency (Panthers), and the Rams’ guard spots have endured a litany of setbacks. Both Rams starting guards (David Edwards, Coleman Shelton) remain on IR. These issues have limited the Rams considerably. No McVay-led Rams offense has ranked outside the top 11; Los Angeles enters Week 9 with the league’s 30th-ranked offense.
While no problems have surfaced after Kupp’s extension agreement, Stafford, 34, has not started well since signing a four-year, $160MM deal. The 14th-year veteran battled an elbow issue throughout the offseason and is averaging just 6.8 yards per attempt — down from 8.1 in 2021 — and enters Week 9 with seven touchdown passes and eight interceptions. Allen Robinson posting 22 catches for 254 yards in seven games has also been an issue, with the Rams having signed him to a three-year, $46.5MM deal that included $30MM guaranteed. Football Outsiders gives the Rams just a 21.6% playoff shot. No defending champion has missed out since the 2016 Broncos.
San Francisco making the call to bring back Jimmy Garoppolobecame vital after Trey Lance‘s Week 2 injury. Garoppolo inconsistency remains, but that should not surprise. The 49ers traded two future first-rounders for Lance because of their incumbent starter’s low ceiling. Of course, the 49ers are 2-for-2 in NFC title game berths with Garoppolo at the controls. But this team has battled major injury problems as well, seeing key contributors on each of their three defensive levels miss time or land on IR. That said, the 49ers still rank first defensively. Following an October swoon, the unit should be expected to stabilize once some of its pieces return.
The 49ers outflanking the Rams in the Christian McCaffreysweepstakes made a major difference in the teams’ Week 8 rematch, and although McCaffrey’s injury history figures to inject nervousness into the equation for 49er fans the rest of the way, the prospect of CMC, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle teaming up probably gives San Francisco (67.3% playoff odds, per Football Outsiders) the highest ceiling in this division. But Seattle (71.9%) remains an obvious threat.
Moving on from two of the best players in team history — Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner — the Seahawks entered the season with long odds to win the division. They hold a one-game lead on the 49ers, thanks largely to the stunning re-emergence of Geno Smith. Off the starter radar since the I.K. Enemkpali punching incident back in 2015, Smith made one start between the 2015 and 2020 seasons. The Seahawks were able to re-sign him to a one-year, $3.5MM deal on April 14, indicating the tepid interest leaguewide. After beating out Drew Lock, Smith (13 TD passes, three INTs, NFL-best 72.7% completion rate — on 7.7 yards a pop) ranks fourth in QBR. While Smith’s offseason market and NFL past would provide signs this may not last, the Seahawks are reaping the benefits of their extended Smith partnership — one the team is interested in exploring beyond 2022.
Seattle’s rookie class — featuring left tackle Charles Cross (obtained with Denver’s No. 9 overall pick), second-rounder Ken Walker and fifth-round project Tariq Woolen — is also delivering immediate returns, doing so after recent draft-weekend struggles set back some of the late Wilson-era teams. The 49ers routed the Seahawks in Week 2, and Seattle has yet to face Los Angeles. But Pete Carroll‘s team is also showing more on defense compared to another woeful start; Clint Hurtt‘s unit has minimized the Cardinals, Chargers and Giants during a three-game win streak.
Extending their Steve Keim–Kliff Kingsbury–Kyler Murray troika this offseason — with Murray’s deal coming after a bizarre film study-based controversy — the Cardinals rank 30th in scoring. They have seen DeAndre Hopkins make a difference upon returning from his six-game PED ban, and Vance Joseph‘s defense — despite a breakup with Chandler Jones after five years — has fared better since Patrick Mahomes torched that group in Week 1. But injuries and continued offensive inconsistency have hindered Arizona season.
Should the Cards (6.9% postseason odds) not be able to upend the Seahawks on Sunday, their road back to the playoffs will be difficult. A last-place finish would certainly invite big-picture questions about the team’s path, with its power trio all under contract through 2027.
Will the Seahawks hang on? Or will one of the 2021 playoff teams surpass them with a better second half? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in on the state of this division in the comments section.
