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Cardinals Place P Blake Gillikin On IR, Promote Third QB

October 11th, 2025 at 6:02pm CST by Ely Allen

Cardinals punter Blake Gillikin avoided missing any time after a brief appearance on the team’s injury report in Week 2, but the back injury that ailed him then appears to have returned with a vengeance. The injury forced him to reappear on the injury report as a limited practice participant on Thursday, and yesterday Gillikin didn’t practice at all. Now, he’ll miss the next four games, at least, after being placed on injured reserve today.

Arizona addressed Gillikin’s potential absence yesterday by signing veteran punter Pat O’Donnell. O’Donnell punted for the Bears for eight years after Chicago drafted him in the sixth-round in 2014. He spent one year after Chicago with the Packers but remained a free agent throughout the 2023 season. Last year, he got a similar call from the 49ers, who held on to him for eight games after Mitch Wishnowsky was sidelined for the second half of the season with a back injury of his own.

It now makes sense that the Cardinals signed O’Donnell directly to the 53-man roster instead of stashing him on the practice squad first. Practice squad players can only be called up three times on a single practice squad contract, and with Gillikin forced to miss four games, at least, Arizona would’ve needed to add O’Donnell to the active roster at some point.

Taking Gillikin’s slot on the 53-man roster will be practice squad quarterback Kedon Slovis. Teams are allowed to have a third quarterback suit up as an emergency option but only if all three passers are on the active roster. Starter Kyler Murray is questionable to play tomorrow after missing nearly all of practice this week with a foot injury. If Slovis had just been called up as a standard gameday practice squad elevation, then Murray would likely have been ruled out, since only two quarterbacks could’ve been active. But with Slovis on the active roster, Murray still could start with Jacoby Brissett serving as the primary backup and Slovis suited up as an emergency third option.

With both gameday elevations available, the Cardinals will call up defensive linemen Zachary Carter and Anthony Goodlow from the practice squad.

Cardinals Activate DT Bilal Nichols

October 4th, 2025 at 8:12pm CST by Adam La Rose

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 Place CB Garrett Williams On IR

September 17th, 2025 at 8:05pm CST by Ely Allen

Despite walking away with a win this weekend, the Cardinals gave up 328 passing yards to Bryce Young and the Panthers. One reason for that may have been injuries to top corners Garrett Williams, Max Melton, and rookie Will Johnson. Melton and Johnson look like they’ll be fine, but Williams has been placed on injured reserve, per Cardinals staff writer Darren Urban.

Defensive lineman L.J. Collier will reportedly join Williams on IR. A main contributor a year ago after starting 15 games in 2024, Collier has spent the first two weeks of the new season as more of a depth piece on the team’s newly revamped defensive line. The depth hurts, though, as they still await the debut of first-round defensive tackle Walter Nolen.

It’s an unfortunate loss for Arizona with Williams coming off a sophomore campaign in which Pro Football Focus (subscription required) rated him as the third-best cornerback in the NFL. Melton and Johnson are the team’s starting cornerbacks on the outside, while Williams is the primary nickelback of the Cardinals secondary.

It was a knee injury that Williams suffered on Sunday. The team didn’t go into specifics on the injury, but obviously, it’s enough to keep him off the field for at least four weeks. Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon didn’t seem too worried, though, claiming that both Williams and Collier could return at some point in the season. Melton was back at practice today and looked unbothered by his own knee injury, while Johnson didn’t practice today but will continue to be evaluated throughout the rest of the week.

In the meantime, fifth-round rookie Denzel Burke stepped up in a big way in his debut on the team’s defense — Burke played only on special teams in Week 1. Third-year corner Kei’Trel Clark saw an increase in snap count, as well. Clark probably has the best chance to fill the slot cornerback role of Williams’. In extremely limited playing time last season, Clark spent about 39 percent of his time in the slot.

Another option to compete for the nickel role is Darren Hall, who was called up from the practice squad to take Williams’ spot on the active roster. Two more practice squad slots were made vacant when defensive tackle Elijah Simmons was signed to Tampa Bay’s active roster and linebacker Elliott Brown was released. Filling the three newly vacant slots are defensive tackle Zachary Carter, defensive tackle Kyon Barrs, and cornerback Ekow Boye-Doe.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/18/25

March 18th, 2025 at 8:32pm CST by Ely Allen

Tuesday’s minor transactions:

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

Clapp returns to the Big Easy after three seasons away from the team. Clapp has enjoyed more opportunities to start with the Chargers and Bills over the past three years after only starting seven of 34 game appearances in New Orleans. He’ll likely serve as a reliable backup to Erik McCoy who has missed 19 games in the last four seasons, including 10 last year.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/21/24

October 21st, 2024 at 7:17pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Green Bay Packers

  • Activated off IR: DL Jonathan Ford
  • Released: LS Matt Orzech

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Giants

New York Jets

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

According to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, today’s moves were purely procedural. After returning to practice earlier this month, Jonathan Ford was nearing the end of his activation window. To avoid the defensive lineman landing on season-ending injured reserve, the Packers activated the former seventh-round pick to the active roster. That meant the Packers needed to carve out a spot, and long snapper Matt Orzech was the temporary casualty. However, Silverstein says Orzech will land back on the roster later this week following more roster machinations.

Meanwhile, the Giants added Armon Watts to the active roster following the lineman’s stint on the team’s practice squad. It sounds like rival teams may have forced the Giants hand. As ESPN’s Jordan Raanan notes, other teams expressed interest in the former Bears starter, forcing the Giants to secure Watts services now (vs. continuing to stash him on the taxi squad).

Elsewhere in New York, Haason Reddick was officially activated from the Did Not Report list today. Per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston, the Jets now have a two-game roster exemption to officially add the pass-rusher to the 53-man roster.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/10/24

October 10th, 2024 at 8:42pm CST by Adam La Rose

Thursday’s taxi squad moves:

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Las Vegas Raiders

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

Uzomah is a veteran of 106 games stemming from his seven-year run in Cincinnati followed by two years with the Jets. The 31-year-old has topped 400 receiving yards in a season only twice, but he has remained a consistent depth option in the passing game. He will aim to provide a rotational contribution behind Dallas Goedert in Philadelphia.

Bengals Waive Zach Carter, Activate Myles Murphy, McKinnley Jackson From IR

October 4th, 2024 at 3:48pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Bengals have activated Myles Murphy and McKinnley Jackson from injured reserve, per a team announcement, adding much-needed reinforcements to their defensive line ahead of a crucial AFC North matchup with the Ravens on Sunday.

To make room on the 53-man roster, the Bengals waived 2022 third-round pick Zach Carter, who played in all four of Cincinnati’s games this year with two starts.

Murphy and Jackson both suffered knee injuries in the preseason that forced them on injured reserve, but only Murphy received a preseason return designation, one of the two permitted under the NFL’s new IR rules. That left the Bengals with seven IR activations entering the regular season, with another used on punter Brad Robbins earlier this week. After Jackson’s activation, Cincinnati now has five activations remaining for the rest of the season.

The returns of Murphy and Jackson could not come at a better time for the Bengals, who have allowed 145.5 rushing yards per game and 0.08 EPA/rush, per NextGen Stats, both bottom-10 marks in the NFL. Cincinnati’s defense also owns the league’s fourth-lowest pressure rate (26.7%) and second-lowest sack rate (3.7%). Murphy will add to a defensive end rotation that has relied solely on Trey Hendrickson to set the edge and generate pressure this season, while Jackson will bolster a depleted defensive tackle group that is still missing Sheldon Rankins, though B.J. Hill is expected to return this week.

Murphy and Jackson are both listed as questionable on the Bengals’ Week 5 injury report, but their activation today indicates that they will be ready to play on Sunday. Murphy appeared in all 17 of the Bengals’ games last season with three sacks after being 28th overall in the 2023 draft. Jackson, a third-round rookie out of Texas A&M, will see his first NFL action this weekend.

Those additions will be vital to winning in the trenches against an explosive Ravens rushing attack that has gashed its last two opponents for 545 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. Sitting at 1-3 and in last place in the AFC North, the Bengals will need to slow down Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry to keep their divisional hopes alive.

Jackson will be expected to provide more consistent play than the now-waived Carter, who has struggled against the pass and the run this season. He has just two quarterback pressures on 80 pass-rushing snaps in 2024, per Pro Football Focus, and his 44.3 overall defensive grade is the 11th-worst among defenders with at least 100 total snaps on the year. Carter started 14 games across his first two NFL seasons, but recorded just 0.5 sacks in a disappointing return on the Bengals’ third-round investment.