Walter Nolen III to start season on PUP list as Cardinals set initial 53-man roster
The Cardinals set their initial 53-man roster on Tuesday afternoon, with rookie defensive lineman Walter Nolen III beginning the year on the PUP list.
(Tyler Drake/Arizona Sports)
(Tyler Drake/Arizona Sports)
Arizona Cardinals rookie defensive lineman Walter Nolen III was moved to the reserve/PUP list as the team set its initial 53-man roster on Tuesday.
Nolen, who missed all of training camp and preseason with a calf injury, must now spend the next four games on the shelf before being eligible to return to action.
He cannot practice with the team while on the PUP list.
If all goes well in his continued recovery, the earliest he could take the field is Arizona’s Week 5 home game against the Tennessee Titans, though he may need a ramp-up upon his return to practice.
Joining Nolen on the PUP list include defensive lineman Bilal Nichols and pass rusher BJ Ojulari.
Additionally, linebacker J.J. Russell was placed on long-term injured reserve, while offensive linemen Hayden Conner and Christian Jones are on short-term IR.
Other roster moves include the surprise release of wide receiver Simi Fehoko and running back DeeJay Dallas.
The wideout appeared to have done enough to secure one of the final roster spots in the wide receivers room.
Dallas, meanwhile, has been a trusted part to Arizona’s special teams operation and served as a return man.
A full look at Arizona’s initial 53-man roster for 2025:
Arizona Cardinals initial 53-man roster
QB (2): Kyler Murray, Jacoby Brissett
RB (4): James Conner, Trey Benson, Emari Demercado, Bam Knight
WR (5): Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson, Zay Jones, Greg Dortch, Xavier Weaver
TE (4): Trey McBride, Tip Reiman, Elijah Higgins, Travis Vokolek
OL (9): Paris Johnson Jr., Evan Brown, Hjalte Froholdt, Isaiah Adams, Jonah Williams, Kelvin Beachum, Jon Gaines II, Will Hernandez, Josh Fryar (Christian Jones and Hayden Conner on short-term IR)
DL (7): Calais Campbell, Dalvin Tomlinson, Darius Robinson, Dante Stills, L.J. Collier, P.J. Mustipher, Justin Jones (Walter Nolen III, Bilal Nichols on reserve/PUP list)
OLB (5): Zaven Collins, Josh Sweat, Jordan Burch, Baron Browning, Xavier Thomas (BJ Ojulari on reserve/PUP list)
ILB (4): Mack Wilson Sr., Akeem Davis-Gaither, Cody Simon, Owen Pappoe (J.J. Russell on long-term IR)
CB (6): Max Melton, Will Johnson, Garrett Williams, Kei’Trel Clark, Denzel Burke, Elijah Jones
S (5): Budda Baker, Jalen Thompson, Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, Joey Blount, Kitan Crawford
K (1): Chad Ryland
P (1): Blake Gillikin
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Comments
23 Comments
The dbacks trainer stretches our DL
Both Nolen and Ojulari will definitely be back by week 5 and make huge contributions to the defense but even without both AZ still will have an absolutely stacked defense that should be a top 5-10 unit this year, those two will just be icing on the cake and two huge boosts to the front 7.
Big 6”6-325lb C/G Hayden Connor I’ve felt since we drafted him he would end up being a steal. Connor is an elite pass blocker, coming out of Texas in 2024 in 617 Pass Block Snaps Connor allowed ZERO (0) Sacks and only 2 QB Hits with an Elite 90.0 Pass Block Grade. Over the last two seasons, he has allowed only three sacks--including none in 2024--and just 26 pressures over 1,165 pass-blocking snaps. Run blocking he posted a 72.5 PFF Grade with room to improve and definitely moves people as a mauling OG when he gets his hands on you. As a wrestler that helps his game tremendously in pass protection with an advanced understanding of hand placement and leverage, attacking angles etc.
Once healthy I think long term he’s going to be a very good OG for us even though they are working him at both G/C and a lot of Center lately. I could see Connor and Adams as the starting OGs long term, likely just wanting Connor to get a bit stronger this year over the offseason really improving versus the run and then giving him a chance to earn the job. Monti Ossenfort though has done a fantastic job building up what is now a stacked stout top 5-7 borderline elite OL that even after ranked 3rd in pass protection/6th run blocking in 2024 will be even better this season especially with Big 6”5 Isiah Adams taking over at RG and premier 6”5 RT Jonah Williams 110% healthy now in the best shape entering the season of his career which is great for AZ cause healthy he easily can be a top 10 caliber RT and we already know massive 6”5 Elite LT Paris Johnson is an elite talent easily able to make the PB this year. This line is loaded and absolutely nasty on the field and should remain one of the top OLs for the foreseeable future all thanks to Ossenfort who’s done a tremendous job with it.
Totally unfair. Diche didn’t. Like football. And when he got paid, he liked it even less. WN3 has been a paid professional at two programs and performed. This isn’t new to him. He earned every big of that NIL money at Ole miss. He is gonna be good.