Walter Nolen III, Emari Demercado active for Cardinals-Texans

Arizona Cardinals rookie defensive lineman Walter Nolen III is officially active for his team’s matchup against the Houston Texans.

The 2025 first-round pick entered the weekend as questionable with a knee injury that has sidelined him the past two weeks.

In four games played, Nolen has recorded one sack, four tackles for loss, three QB hits, a pass defensed and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown.

The Cardinals will also see running back Emari Demercado back in the mix against Houston. Demercado hasn’t played since Arizona’s Week 11 loss to San Francisco.

Demercado, A trusted pass blocker, has also run the rock 31 times for 241 yards in nine games played this season. He’s caught eight of 12 targets for 64 yards and a touchdown.

He, along with Michael Carter and Bam Knight, will look to lead Arizona’s run game against a stout Houston defense.

Additionally, defensive lineman L.J. Collier (knee), offensive lineman Christian Jones (knee) are active for Sunday after entering the game as questionable.

Sitting out for the Cardinals are wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. (heel) and Xavier Weaver (personal), offensive linemen Paris Johnson Jr. (knee) and Evan Brown (personal), safeties Rabbit Taylor-Demerson (ankle) and Jalen Thompson (hamstring) and cornerback Max Melton (heel).

For Houston, wide receiver Braxton Berrios, quarterback Graham Mertz, running back Nick Chubb, cornerback E.J. Speed, defensive lineman Solomon Byrd and offensive lineman Jarrett Kingston are inactive.

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