Arizona Cardinals
Bilal Nichols returned to practice this week, which marked the earliest point at which he could do so. The veteran defensive tackle will now be available to the Cardinals for Week 5.
Nichols was activated from the reserve/PUP list on Saturday, per a team announcement. That news comes as little surprise, given the fact he had his 21-day activation window opened at the first opportunity. Nichols being back in the fold will be a welcomed development with Arizona having managed a long list of injuries along the defensive front to begin the season.
Justin Jones and L.J. Collier were both lost for the year before the start of the regular season. First-round rookie Walter Nolen, meanwhile, has yet to play in 2025 and remains on the PUP list at this point. Darius Robinson exited the Cardinals’ Week 4 loss with a pectoral injury and he has been ruled out for tomorrow’s game. There should be plenty of snaps available for Nichols during his season debut as a result.
The 29-year-old was limited to just six games last season and missed the first month of the current campaign with a neck injury. Nichols handled a 45% snap share when healthy in 2024, his first season in Arizona. The former Bear and Raider has made 88 starts in his career, and a heavy workload right away in 2025 can be expected given his track record but also the Cardinals’ injury situation up front. Pairing with defensive end Calais Campbell will certainly allow Nichols to provide the team with a highly experienced D-line.
On the books through 2027, Nichols remaining healthy moving forward will be key. None of the former fifth-rounder’s base salary for next season is guaranteed, so a strong run of performances will be needed to ensure he remains in Arizona beyond the current campaign. The Cardinals rank ninth in the NFL against the run; Nichols will look to keep the team among the league’s best in that respect while also aiming to chip in as a pass-rush presence.
On Saturday, Arizona also elevated defensive lineman Zach Carter and offensive lineman Nick Leverett from the practice squad. Carter was added to the taxi squad recently and will make his season debut tomorrow. Leverett was among the team’s cuts after training camp but remained in place on the practice squad; he too will make his first appearance of the season when the Cardinals host the Titans.
Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon announced that running back Trey Benson is being placed on injured reserve, via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Benson suffered a knee injury late in Arizona’s Week 4 matchup against the Seahawks last Thursday, but it was not originally thought to be serious, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. That assessment changed very quickly; Benson has already undergone arthroscopic surgery on his meniscus and is expected to miss four to six weeks, according to Schefter.
Benson’s injury is another hit to a Cardinals backfield that already lost James Conner for the season. 2023 UDFA Emari Demercado will likely take over starting duties with Zonovan Knight and Michael Carter rotating in. Arizona also has D’Ernest Johnson on their practice squad.
Demercado has two starts in his career but has never been a lead back for multiple games. Knight has been a healthy scratch in two games with zero touches in the other two. Carter has been in the the NFL the longest, but his production has dipped significant since the start of his career.
The Cardinals have a Week 8 bye, so Benson’s four-game minimum IR stay would not elapse until Week 10, which fits with his projected recovery timeline. He may have a chance at returning to practice as soon as he’s eligible, though Arizona will likely give him time to ramp up after surgery.
In the meantime, the Cardinals were already struggling to move the ball on offense before their top two RBs went down. Now, quarterback Kyler Murray will be asked to do even more, though his performance to open the season has been underwhelming.
Here are Wednesday’s practice squad transactions:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: RB Jermar Jefferson
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: G LaDarius Henderson
Detroit Lions
- Signed: CB Nick Whiteside
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: T Bobby Hart
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: LB Caleb Johnson
New York Jets
- Signed: OLB Tomon Fox
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: OLB Antwaun Powell-Ryland
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: RB Myles Gaskin
Washington Commanders
- Signed: WR Robbie Chosen
The Panthers’ offensive line is already shorthanded with Robert Hunt and Austin Corbett set for lengthy absences. The unit will be missing another notable contributor for the time being. 
Guard Chandler Zavala was placed on injured reserve Wednesday, per a team announcement. The 2023 fourth-rounder took over from Hunt in Week 2 after he went down. For each of the past two games, Zavala handled starting duties at the right guard spot. With Hunt likely to miss most of the season’s remainder, that setup was set to continue for the foreseeable future.
Instead, Carolina’s offensive line plans will need to change once more. Zavala – who is dealing with a knee injury – is now set to miss at least the next four weeks. The 26-year-old’s absence will deal another blow to a Carolina offense which has battled inconsistency in 2025. It will also mark the second of Zavala’s three NFL seasons in which he has missed time.
The Panthers have also placed depth receiver David Moore on IR. The veteran has what head coach Dave Canales termed a “significant” elbow dislocation (h/t Joe Person of The Athletic). A lengthy recovery timeline is expected in this case, and Moore is set to be sidelined longer than Zavala. Carolina’s receiving corps will move forward without a regular presence (albeit one with only one reception to date) in the fold for a notable stretch.
In need of healthy O-line options, Carolina also announced today that Jake Curhan has been signed off the Cardinals’ practice squad. The former UDFA has made 40 appearances and 11 starts in his career, but he has yet to see any playing time on offense so far with Arizona. That could soon change given this change of scenery.
The 1-3 Panthers will host a Dolphins team sporting the same record in Week 5. Carolina’s efforts to rebound from a poor start to the season will include an offense featuring even fewer available contributors, though.
Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: CB Jaden Davis
- Released: CB Ekow Boye-Doe
Baltimore Ravens
- Released: C Sam Mustipher
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: CB Ameer Speed
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: WR Parris Campbell
Detroit Lions
- Signed: CB Tre Flowers, LB Ty Summers
- Released: WR Ronnie Bell
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: QB Carter Bradley
- Released: QB Seth Henigan
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: OT Leroy Watson
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: OL Michael Dunn, CB Isas Waxter
- Released: CB Myles Purchase, OLB Rashad Weaver
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: OT Matt Waletzko
- Released: WR Tim Jones
New England Patriots
- Signed: OT Sebastian Gutierrez, G Andrew Rupcich
- Released: G Jack Conley, DL Fabien Lovett
New York Jets
- Signed: OL Liam Fornadel
- Released: LB Ben Niemann
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released: LB Lance Dixon
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: OT Logan Brown
Here are the NFL’s practice squad transactions immediately following Week 4.
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: RB D’Ernest Johnson
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: OT Logan Brown
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DB Alex Johnson, RB Blake Watson
- Released: RB Raheem Blackshear, T Andrew Rupcich
The Broncos wanted to re-sign Watson to their practice squad, per Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette, but they would have had to wait until Week 7 after a previous injury settlement with the second-year running back. Watson is now healthy and preferred to sign with a new team as soon as possible.
Four teams are playing on Monday night, three of which made elevations from their practice squad. Here are those transactions and the rest of today’s minor moves from around the league:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed from practice squad: RB Michael Carter
Cleveland Browns
- Placed on IR: WR DeAndre Carter
Denver Broncos
- Elevated from practice squad: LB Garret Wallow
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed from Cowboys’ practice squad: LB Buddy Johnson
Miami Dolphins
- Signed from practice squad: K Riley Patterson
- Placed on IR: CB Jason Marshall
New York Giants
- Placed on IR: WR Malik Nabers (story)
- Waived: OLB Tomon Fox
New York Jets
- Elevated from practice squad: S Dean Clark, LB Mykal Walker
With Jason Sanders on IR, Patterson has been the Dolphins’ kicker to start the season. The team used up his three practice squad elevations in the first three games, so he had to be signed to the active roster to play in Monday night’s game vs. the Jets.
Marshall, a fifth-round pick in April’s draft, played a rotational role in a depleted Dolphins secondary in Weeks 1-3. The unit will now need to turn to depth options like Cornell Armstrong and Julius Brents.
The Cardinals opened the 21-day practice window for defensive tackle Bilal Nichols to return from the physically unable to perform list, per team writer Zach Gershman.
Since Arizona played on Thursday night in Week 4, they started their practice week on Monday with Nichols in the mix. The eight-year veteran started the 2025 season on the physically unable to perform list after sustaining multiple stingers in 2024 that turned into a season-ending neck injury. He will have three weeks to practice before he must be added to the active roster or revert to the PUP list for the rest of the season.
Nichols’ return would be a major boost to a Cardinals defensive line that has been decimated by injuries. Veterans Justin Jones and L.J. Collier are already out for the year, while first-round rookie Walter Nolen landed on the PUP list before training camp even began. Second-year defensive tackle Darius Robinson also left last week’s game with a chest injury and did not practice on Monday.
The injuries have forced the Cardinals to rely heavily on third-year UDFA Dante Stills alongside veteran starters Calais Campbell and Dalvin Tomlinson. Campbell and Tomlinson have largely held up, but Stills’ 47.2 grade from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) is the seventh lowest among defensive linemen with at least 115 snaps. (Robinson’s 35.5 grade is the second-lowest in the same group.) As such, Nichols’ return would significantly help reinforce the unit.
“[Nichols] can play a couple of different hats for us,” said head coach Jonathan Gannon after Monday’s practice. “Good to have him back out there today. He plays the way we want him to play. He’s got energy and juice, so it was good to see him out there.”
Opening Nichols’ window as soon as he became eligible is a good sign for his return timeline, but neck injuries are notoriously tricky and the Cardinals are unlikely to rush him back to the field.
Thursday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Elevated: RB Michael Carter, DL Anthony Goodlow
San Francisco 49ers
- Activated from reserve/suspended list: WR Demarcus Robinson
- Placed on IR: DE Nick Bosa (story)
Seattle Seahawks
- Elevated: T Amari Kight, DT Brandon Pili
A DUI case resulted in a three-game suspension for Robinson. An early effort was made with respect to an appeal, but as expected the standard length for a ban was issued in this instance. Bosa’s ACL tear has created an open roster spot for Robinson, under contract through 2026, to make his season debut this week.