HEADLINES

Arizona Cardinals News & Rumors

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/3/25

August 3rd, 2025 at 5:46pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the minor NFL moves to close out the first weekend of August:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

  • Waived: T Ozzie Hutchinson

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Tennessee Titans

A couple more players waived with injury designations recently have made their way back to their teams on injured reserve.

In Philadelphia, Johnstone won an audition in which the Eagles worked out four longsnappers. This is Johnstone’s first NFL contract after going undrafted out of Appalachian State this year.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/2/25

August 2nd, 2025 at 8:11pm CST by Adam La Rose

Saturday’s minor moves around the NFL:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

  • Activated from active/PUP list: TE Mark Redman

New York Jets

  • Claimed off waivers (from Broncos): CB Mario Goodrich
  • Waived (with injury designation): S Jaylin Simpson

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Released from IR via injury settlement: WR Danny Gray

Pittsburgh Steelers 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders 

Watkins and Campbell are among the notable veterans who are out for the season unless they wind up being released via an injury settlement and later signing with another team. Watkins left Arizona’s practice early on Thursday, and subsequent evaluation has clearly confirmed a notable injury occurred.

Campbell is dealing with a knee ailment, ESPN’s Todd Archer notes. Injuries have been a near-constant issue for the 28-year-old, who has played a full season only once so far in his career. The Cowboys marked Campbell’s third consecutive NFC East team, but instead of competing for a roster spot he will once again turn his attention to recovery.

Wallace has 96 games and 72 starts to his name, although his 35% defensive snap share with the Broncos last season was by far the lowest of his career. The 30-year-old will head to Jacksonville in time for the preseason. A strong showing through the remainder of training camp could allow him to occupy a backup role in the Jags’ secondary this season.

NFL Minor Transactions: 8/1/25

August 1st, 2025 at 6:56pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the first minor NFL moves in August:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/28/25

July 28th, 2025 at 10:35pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Arizona Cardinals

  • Signed: CB Keni-H Lovely

Baltimore Ravens

  • Activated from non-football injury list: LB Jake Hummel

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

  • Activated from active/NFI list: S Josh Minkins

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Jenkins, who switched to center this offseason, was dealing with a back injury in training camp and participated in a limited capacity on Monday, per USA Today’s Ryan Wood.

Evans, a sixth-round pick by the Rams in 2023, played in 10 games as a rookie but didn’t make the 53-man roster in 2024. He joined the Jets’ practice squad in December and signed a reserve/futures contract in January, but opted to retire instead.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/27/25

July 27th, 2025 at 7:11pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are Sunday’s minor transactions to close out the weekend:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Activated from active/NFI list: RB Amar Johnson

Kansas City Chiefs

New York Jets

Arizona is adding the brother of Stephon Gilmore after placing two cornerbacks on injured reserve earlier today. Thomas-Oliver was released by the Lions a day after suffering a hamstring injury in practice. He had returned to practice only three days ago from the active/non-football injury list.

Cardinals CB Starling Thomas Suffers Torn ACL

July 27th, 2025 at 2:25pm CST by Rory Parks

2:25pm: Thomas has landed on injured reserve, per a team announcement. That move confirms he will join Murphy-Bunting in missing the entire 2025 campaign. Fellow cornerback Jaden Davis – who inked a futures deal in January – is also on IR.

11:56am: Cardinals cornerback Starling Thomas suffered a torn ACL during Friday’s practice, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. Thomas will likely miss all of 2025 as a result.

Thomas, 25, signed with the Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2023. He impressed in his first training camp with Detroit but was unable to make the club’s 53-man roster at the end of the summer. The Cardinals claimed him off waivers, and by the end of his rookie season, he had become a full-time starter.

He continued to operate in that capacity in 2024, appearing in a full complement of games and starting 15 of them en route to a 75% snap share. While his peformance last season was certainly an improvement on his rookie showing, he has not yet made much of an impression in terms of surface-level stats or advanced metrics.

Pro Football Focus assigned Thomas an uninspiring 60.9 overall grade (with a matching coverage grade) in 2024, which placed him 76th out of 116 qualified corners. The UAB product also surrendered a 100.6 quarterback rating and is still waiting for his first career interception. He tallied just six passes defensed in his 820 defensive snaps last year.

While ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss believes the Cardinals are well-equipped to withstand Thomas’ absence, the team was seemingly counting on him to remain a key contributor in the secondary. As Theo Mackie of the Arizona Republic writes, Thomas and second-round rookie Will Johnson were splitting reps at one outside corner spot, with 2024 second-rounder Max Melton getting the lion’s share of the looks on the opposite side.

With veteran Sean Murphy-Bunting set to miss the entire 2025 campaign as well, the Cardinals could look to the free agent market for reinforcements. The team’s CB room is comprised largely of young talent like Melton, Johnson, 2023 third-rounder Garrett Williams, 2024 third-rounder Elijah Jones, and fifth-round rookie Denzel Burke.

On the other hand, as Weinfuss suggested when Thomas first suffered the injury (video link), Arizona may feel it has enough depth even without Murphy-Bunting and Thomas in the mix.

OL Justin Pugh Retires

July 25th, 2025 at 12:16pm CST by Adam La Rose

Justin Pugh‘s time in the NFL has come to an end. On Friday, the veteran offensive lineman announced his decision to retire as a member of the Giants (h/t Dan Duggan of The Athletic).

“Not many players get to go out on their terms, and after 11 years playing in the NFL, I am officially retiring from the league,” Pugh said (via ESPN.com). “I thought I was going to do another one, but just didn’t have it in the tank. I started losing weight and started feeling good, and didn’t want to do a 12th year.”

Pugh entered the league as a Giants first-rounder. His first stint with the team lasted five years, and during that span he handled starting reps at multiple spots. After beginning at right tackle, he moved inside and split most of his time between left and right guard.

During his first trip to free agency, Pugh landed a five-year pact with the Cardinals. The Syracuse product remained a full-time starter throughout his tenure in Arizona, although in two of his five campaigns there he was limited to single-digit games due to injury. Pugh occasionally saw time elsewhere along the team’s offensive line, but for the most part his Cardinals run saw him entrenched at left guard.

Over the course of his first Giants stint, Pugh drew a number of favorable PFF reviews. He never managed a Pro Bowl nod over the course of his career, however, and his extended run as a starter along the interior did not yield strong evaluations over time. Pugh returned to New York in 2023 while the team dealt with a slew of injuries up front; he wound up starting all 12 of his appearances that year while filling in at left tackle and left guard. No repeat of that setup was deemed necessary last season.

After spending the 2024 campaign out of the league, Pugh will not attempt another comeback with the Giants or any other team. The 34-year-old racked up 134 combined regular and postseason appearances over the course of his career, starting all but three of them. Between his various Giants and Cardinals contracts, Pugh amassed over $54MM in earnings.

Browns LB Jordan Hicks Retires

July 25th, 2025 at 8:40am CST by Adam La Rose

Jordan Hicks worked as a full-time starter with the Browns last season, and he was in position to do the same again in 2025. Instead, the veteran linebacker is hanging up his cleats.

Hicks announced on Instagram Friday (via Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal) that he has retired. One year remains on his contract, but today’s news means Cleveland will likely be in the market for a linebacker addition. The team was already shorthanded at that spot given Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah‘s reserve/PUP designation in May which ensured he will miss all of the coming season.

“After 23 years of playing football, I’m officially retiring from the NFL,” Hicks’ announcement reads in part. “Football has given me more than I could have ever imagined… I’m looking forward to this next season of life and all that it brings. I walk away with peace knowing I gave football all I had, and that the best is yet to come.”

Hicks, 33, entered the NFL as an Eagles third-rounder. He played out his rookie contract with Philadelphia, establishing himself as a regular first-team presence on defense. The Texas product then spent three years with the Cardinals, logging over 1,000 snaps in each campaign. Hicks was released in 2022, but his time on the free agent market proved to be short-lived.

A two-year Vikings pact allowed Hicks to operate as a starter with his third career team. While in Minnesota, he reached triple-digit tackles both times, extending his streak in that regard to five years. Hicks took a two-year, $8MM pact to join the Browns last March, and he was a regular when healthy in 2024. Injury resulted in just 12 games played, but a notable snap share would have been expected this time around (especially with Owusu-Koramoah not in the picture for 2025).

Cleveland’s linebacker depth chart also includes Devin Bush, although the former first-rounder is facing simple assault and harassment charges from an alleged domestic violence incident. Even if Bush does wind up playing a full campaign in 2025, today’s news means the Browns will need to rely even more on second-round rookie Carson Schwesinger as a starter than they were already in position to. It will be interesting to see if the team pursues a short-term veteran signing in the near future.

A member of the Eagles’ Super Bowl-winning team from 2017, Hicks will depart the NFL after playing 138 combined regular and postseason games. In addition to a championship, he exits the game with over $44MM in career earnings.

Cardinals LB J.J. Russell Carted Off Field Following Collision

July 24th, 2025 at 8:30pm CST by Ben Levine

There was a scary moment at Cardinals practice today. According to Darren Urban of the team’s website, linebacker J.J. Russell was involved in a collision before being placed on a backboard and carted off the field. The player has since been released from the hospital and re-joined the team after tests were negative, per the organization.

The Cardinals passed along an update earlier tonight that the player was alert and had movement in all his extremities following the collision.

“JJ Russell is being evaluated for a head [and] neck injury suffered in this afternoon’s practice,” the team said. “He was alert on the field [and] had movement in all his extremities. He has been taken to a local hospital for further testing [and] continued evaluation.”

Per Urban, Russell was injured when he collided with safety Kitan Crawford while trying to break up a pass attempt. Players gathered around the linebacker before he was carted off the field.

Russell joined the Cardinals this offseason after spending the first three seasons of his career with the Buccaneers. The former UDFA out of Memphis got into 30 games during his time in Tampa Bay, including a 2024 campaign where he appeared in a career-high 16 games. He finished last season with 33 tackles, with more than half of his snaps coming on special teams.

Russell will likely be competing for a similar ST role in Arizona, although he could also push for reps at weakside linebacker. Akeem Davis-Gaither was added in free agency to lead that position grouping, with Owen Pappoe and Vi Jones providing the rest of the depth at that position.

Cardinals’ Rookie DT Walter Nolen Likely Out For Remainder Of Camp

July 23rd, 2025 at 9:05pm CST by Ely Allen

The Cardinals have officially opened training camp and already the team is getting bad news on the injury front. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, rookie first-round defensive tackle Walter Nolen suffered a calf injury that will knock him out for most, if not all, of training camp.

There are a few key points to this situation that make details very important. Rapoport reports that the injury occurred at the team facility, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter clarifies that Nolen was injured while getting ready for training camp, meaning he wasn’t participating in a team workout. Because of the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, there are strict limitations on number of practice and rest days, daily time limits, and when practices can include equipment and contact.

The injury happening at the facility, with training camp having commenced, would in most cases be a clear-as-day football situation that would land Nolen on the active/physically unable to perform list. Schefter’s clarification, though, specifies that Nolen was reportedly training on his own in preparation for the start of camp. We’ve seen situations in the past where teams have argued about what constitutes a football activity, and with Nolen working out on his own, there’s a chance he may have been placed on the active/non-football injury list, on which he would not be entitled to receive his salary.

Instead, Nolen lands on the active/PUP list, per Rapoport, along with outside linebacker BJ Ojulari and defensive tackle Bilal Nichols. Ojulari is apparently still working his way back from a torn ACL he suffered a couple weeks into last year’s training camp, costing him the entire 2024 season. Nichols, at least, got to the regular season before suffering a season-ending stinger in mid-October.

Any of the three players will be able to come off the list by passing a physical. Nolen’s timetable for return, though, runs right up to the start of the regular season. He may be able to get better in time to play in Week 1, but most, if not all, of his rookie training camp will be spent recovering instead of getting adjusted to play at the NFL level. It’s an unfortunate development that may mean he has to ease his way into his rookie campaign, but it’s good news that there’s a chance he may not miss any games.

Load More Posts