Cardinals place Joey Blount on IR, reinstate Markus Bailey from suspension
Dec 30, 2024, 4:17 PM
The Arizona Cardinals placed safety Joey Blount on injured reserve with a ribs injury, the team announced Monday.
The special teams ace sat out last week’s 13-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams due to the injury after missing practice throughout the week.
“He plays a couple different roles for us on four phases,” Gannon said Thursday. “We’ll plug and play different guys in the spots that he’s in. Feel really good about the guys that are going to play and step up for us.
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“He’s one of our alpha dogs on (special) teams. That’s a tough one for us, but we’ve got guys ready to go and step in. Their roles are going to change a little bit and they’re ready to go.”
Despite only playing in 2% of the team’s available defensive snaps, Blount has appeared in 70% of special teams reps. He’s logged five tackles.
Markus Bailey reinstated from suspension
In addition to placing Blount on IR, Arizona also activated linebacker Markus Bailey to the practice squad from the NFL suspended list.
Bailey was suspended for six games for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy back in November.
The linebacker denied taking the banned substance knowingly, but “with sadness and disappointment” he accepted the suspension.
Zay’s brother, the linebacker!
No, it’s not Jimmy’s brother, the singer. It’s Zay’s brother, the linebacker!
With the Cardinals claiming linebacker Vi Jones off waivers from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Carolina State alum joins forces with his brother and wide receiver Zay Jones in Arizona.
The newest Cardinal entered the league with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2022. He appeared in three games as a rookie.
He joined the Buccaneers practice squad in 2023 before recording two forced fumbles and nine tackles with the team this season (seven games).
