GLENDALE — The pads haven’t come on, yet the Arizona Cardinals continue to see big blow after big blow early on in training camp.
A quick recap:
Day 1: Head coach Jonathan Gannon announces 2025 first-round pick Walter Nolen III “is going to miss some time” with a calf injury suffered during offseason training.
Pass rusher BJ Ojulari and defensive lineman Bilal Nichols also started training camp on the PUP list.
Day 2: Practice was abruptly ended after inside linebacker J.J. Russell was carted off and transported to a local hospital where he underwent head and neck evaluation.
He’s back with the team but in concussion protocol. Cornerback Jaden Davis also left practice with a knee injury.
Day 3: Starting cornerback Starling Thomas V suffers a torn ACL near the end of practice.
Day 4: Gannon confirms Thomas is out for the season, while Davis has a chance to return off injured reserve. Steven Gilmore was signed to provide depth relief at corner.
“It’s a known unknown,” the head coach added. “You know there’s going to be guys that get hurt. You don’t know who and don’t know what. All 32 teams deal with it. They’ll move forward and we’ll move forward.”
Cardinals training camp marred by injuries
While Russell and Davis had an uphill climb to crack the initial 53-man roster in highly competitive rooms, all signs pointed to Nolen and Thomas having impactful roles.
That’s no longer the case for Thomas, who, much like BJ Ojulari last year, will spend the rest of the season working toward next year.
Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon confirms CB Starling Thomas V is done for the year with the torn ACL suffered Friday. pic.twitter.com/D8nGRLW3PS
— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) July 27, 2025
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As for Nolen, there’s still the chance he gets back on track, though potentially missing all of training camp and the preseason is going to stunt his on-field progression.
Arizona isn’t going to run the risk of running Nolen out there early, either.
Every injury is different and everyone heals differently, but after watching the slow roll of 2024 first-round pick Darius Robinson and his own calf issues, Arizona isn’t going to run the risk of speeding up the timeline of Nolen’s recovery.
And while Cardinals fans were quick with the “not agains,” Arizona’s defensive situation in 2025 is mightily different from what it was last year.
Along the defensive line, the Cardinals have plenty of rotational talent to run with while Nolen is on the mend.
That includes projected starters Calais Campbell, Dalvin Tomlinson and Robinson, whose first-team role feels that much more cemented with Nolen sidelined. Throw in Dante Stills, L.J. Collier, Justin Jones and undrafted Elijah Simmons, and there’s a rotation that still looks head and shoulders above the last two seasons.
Losing Thomas, however, hurts much more.
After starting in 22 of 29 games played across the past two seasons, the cornerback was consistently seeing first-team reps on the outside in a rotation with Max Melton and rookie Will Johnson.
Even if he had lost out on securing one of the starting spots, all signs pointed to Thomas having an impactful role defensively.
Now, it’s on the rest of the room to not only stack training camp days but stay available given the recent injuries.
“There’s been big-time competition in that room. I like where the room’s trending,” Gannon said. “I think they’re doing a good job and it’s only going to increase right now.”
It’s also on general manager Monti Ossenfort to keep his pulse on the free agent market in case the hits keep coming when the pads enter the equation on Monday.
“Roster construction never ends,” Ossenfort said Friday. “We’re constantly looking at it this time of year. It’s players that are still free agents, players that may get let go by other teams. In a few weeks here, our staff will all turn our attention to the pro preseason games.
“You’re at the mercy of what’s available, what’s out there. I think that’s a constant that we’re always trying to do and that also includes every day evaluating our team. It’s a competitive business. … it’s just one of those things that whenever there’s a chance to upgrade, something that we want to go out and do, we certainly will do that.”
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