This is an important week for Cardinals rookie Walter Nolen III
If Cardinals rookie defensive lineman Walter Nolen III has any hope at being ready by Week 1, coming off the PUP list this week is a good start.
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Arizona Cardinals first-round defensive lineman Walter Nolen III is going to play this year.
It’s just a matter of when.
Since being placed on the PUP list to start training camp, Nolen has not practiced with the team.
Mental reps? Sure. Physical reps? Nonexistent.
That’s why this week is an important one for Nolen and his hopes for playing in Week 1.
“He’s doing well, he’s progressing right where he should be progressing,” head coach Jonathan Gannon said during joint practice in Denver last week. “He hasn’t had any — I don’t want to say the word setback — but hasn’t had any setbacks. He’s progressing well.”
With the Cardinals’ 27-7 loss to the Denver Broncos on Saturday, Arizona has just one more exhibition before games start counting. Twenty days from now, it’s go time.
Time is running out for Nolen, who only has a handful of practices to not only be activated off the PUP list, but also ramp up in time for the start of the regular season.
The early reports around Nolen suggested his recovery timeline could run up against the start of the regular season.
Things are certainly trending that way with each day Nolen isn’t participating.
And even if he does come off the PUP list this week, his status for Week 1 remains very much in the balance.
Just because Walter Nolen III comes off the PUP list, doesn’t mean he’ll play Week 1
There’s a world where Nolen is healthy enough to crack the initial 53-man roster but remains on the shelf as an inactive for the first couple of games.
If his timeline is within the four-week window required for starting the season on the reserve/PUP list, that will likely be the case.
That being said, Arizona doesn’t necessarily need to rush the rookie back, given the makeup of the DL room.
Unlike the Cardinals’ situation with 2024 first-rounder Darius Robinson and his calf issue that stunted his rookie year to just six games — essentially a redshirt rookie season — Arizona reloaded in a big way this offseason with the additions of veterans Calais Campbell and Dalvin Tomlinson.
Toss in Robinson, L.J. Collier and Dante Stills and the rotation of big men up front appears to be in a good spot.
And that’s before mentioning P.J. Mustipher, Elijah Simmons or Justin Jones rounding out the room. Bilal Nichols (neck) could also be a late candidate if he can get off the PUP list, too.
Who else could use a return off the Cardinals’ PUP list this week?
In addition to Nolen and Nichols, seeing pass rusher BJ Ojulari coming off the PUP list this week would be beneficial in his return to action.
Ojulari hasn’t tasted any on-the-field work since going down with a torn ACL in last year’s training camp action.
Since then, the once projected starter has worked to get back to his prior form.
The Cardinals, meanwhile, continued to upgrade the position with top free-agent addition Josh Sweat and rookie standout Jordan Burch joining the team this offseason.
Returners Zaven Collins, Baron Browning and Xavier Thomas are expected to take a step forward this year.
And seeing offensive lineman Will Hernandez check the appropriate boxes to come off the PUP list sooner than later would add some serious depth early on.
He’s been cleared from the season-ending knee injury suffered early last season. It’s just a matter of getting into football shape.
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Comments
10 Comments
That was not the cards two. That was the card's soon to be working in insurance. As soon as the cards 2nd team scored, they pulled everyone. Go look at the 53 projection? How many of those players were actually playing? 3 maybe 5. The schedule is nothing compared to last year. Opening 5 of 6 against play off teams? Brutal. This year? The only worry is Seattle and they gutted their offense.
"....This team is so deep.." Uh, no they are not. Did you see Saturday's display of lack of talent and depth? Broncos 2's blasted the Cards 2's for 1 1/2 quarters and the 3's keep the smash down going. Better roster than 3 years ago, but we need all hands on deck. I get NO's. Car, Frisco and Seattle at home, but open on the road in the Big Easy, Carolina has had our # for years, Frisco is still banged up bu they have elite talent and it's on the road. Tenn and Indianapolis should be W's but, it;s a tight league on the road at Indy looking forward to GB .. Who ALWAYS sells out State Farm - That's just another road game. I can see 6 -1 before the bye but I can see 3-4 just as easy. I see 4-6 the 10, which means either another craptastic 7-10 or 10-7 at the best. I mean 12-5 would be unbelievable.
Do not rush WN3 or BJO back. This team is so deep that they don't need either to start right away. Unlike last year where 5 of the first 6 games were against playoff teams, the cards don't play a playoff team from last year until week 7 (Green Bay).
The cards need to be firing on all cylinders after the bye week starting with Dallas. That's the perfect time to infuse the defense with WN3 and BJO.