After moving defensive tackle Walter Nolen to the reserve/PUP list in late August, the Cardinals haven’t gotten any contributions from the first-round rookie this season. That could change soon, though, as head coach Jonathan Gannon said the team will open Nolen’s practice window on Wednesday (via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com). Arizona will have 21 days to activate him.
Thanks to a calf injury, Nolen will have a delayed start to his NFL career after going 16th overall in the draft. Nolen spent his first two seasons in college with Texas A&M before transferring to Mississippi ahead of the 2024 campaign. The 300-pounder earned All-America and first-team All-SEC honors during his only year with Ole Miss, leading the Cardinals to identify him as a potential long-term cornerstone.
The addition of Nolen was part of an offseason front seven makeover for Arizona, which has gotten off to a 2-4 start. The team also signed former Eagle Josh Sweat to a four-year, $76.4MM deal, handed Dalvin Tomlinson a two-year, $29MM pact, and reunited with Calais Campbell on a one-year, $5.5MM accord. While Sweat and Campbell have combined for eight sacks, the rest of the defense has only picked up three. The unit ranks an underwhelming 24th in yards per game, but it’s a more respectable 13th against the run and 14th in points surrendered.
Tomlinson and Campbell have started in all six games this year, while 2024 first-rounder Darius Robinson, Dante Stills, and PJ Mustipher have also accrued significant playing time along the interior. A pectoral injury has held Robinson out since Week 4, but he’ll join Nolen in returning to practice on Wednesday (via Urban). Those two and Bilal Nichols, who has played just one game this year, should replenish the Cardinals’ depth along the line when they’re all in the lineup.
While Nolen and Robinson are on their way back, the Cardinals will go the rest of 2025 without tight end Travis Vokolek. Gannon announced Vokolek’s season-ending IR placement on Wednesday. Before succumbing to a neck injury, Vokolek appeared in five games this year and didn’t catch a pass in 32 offensive snaps. He played 45 snaps on special teams. He’s the second Trey McBride backup to land on IR over the past week and a half, joining Tip Reiman.