Cardinals' Dadrion Taylor-Demerson: Questionable with ankle
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Taylor-Demerson (ankle) is listed as questionable ahead of Sunday's game against the Falcons, Bo Brack of GoPHNX.com reports.
Taylor-Demerson has been sidelined since he suffered an ankle injury in Week 10 against the Seahawks. The strong safety was able to log his first practices since sustaining the injury this week, stringing three consecutive limited sessions together. If the 2024 fourth-rounder can suit up, he will provide meaningful defensive back depth to a corps that has sustained quite a few injuries.
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Cardinals' Cody Simon: Questionable for Sunday
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Simon (knee) is listed as questionable ahead of Sunday's game against the Falcons, Bo Brack of GoPHNX.com reports.
Simon logged three consecutive limited practices this week. The middle linebacker's participation was not enough to avoid an injury designation, but it seems to be enough to indicate that he will likely suit up for Sunday's contest. If the fourth-round rookie is unable to play, Akeem Davis-Gaither or Zaven Collins may be asked to slide over to middle linebacker and let Owen Pappoe or Baron Browning take over another position for the corps, as other middle linebackers Mack Wilson (ribs) and J.J. Russell (concussion) are both on IR.
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Cardinals' Darren Hall: Won't play against Falcons
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Hall (concussion) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Falcons, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.
Arizona's beleaguered secondary will be without Hall, Max Melton (heel) and Jalen Thompson (hamstring) against the Falcons. Hall will need to clear the NFL's five-step concussion protocol to have a chance to return in Week 17 against the Bengals.
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Cardinals' Max Melton: Missing fourth consecutive game
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Melton (heel) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Falcons, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.
Melton will miss a fourth consecutive game due to his heel injury. Denzel Burke is likely to draw his seventh start of the season in Melton's absence.
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Cardinals' Darren Hall: Misses another practice
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Hall (concussion) did not practice Thursday, Tyler Drake of ArizonaSports.com reports.
Hall has now missed back-to-back practices to begin Week 16 preparations. He appears to be trending in the wrong direction for Sunday's game against the Falcons. Hall will need to fully clear the NFL's five-step concussion protocol before returning to the lineup.
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Justin Jones: Let go by Cards
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Jones (knee) was waived from injured reserve by the Cardinals on Wednesday, Bo Brack of GoPHNX.com reports.
Jones has been sidelined all season with a knee injury. Assuming he doesn't play at all in the current campaign, he'll have been active for only three games across the last two seasons combined.
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Cardinals' Cody Simon: Limited to open week
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Simon (knee) was a limited participant at practice Wednesday, Zach Gershman of the Cardinals' official website reports.
Simon left the team's 40-20 loss to the Texans in Week 15 in the first quarter due to a knee injury, but his ability to participate at practice in any capacity to open the week is a positive sign. The linebacker will have two more chances to log a full session prior to Sunday's game against the Falcons.
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Cardinals' Dadrion Taylor-Demerson: Logs limited practice Wednesday
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Taylor-Demerson (ankle) was a limited participant at practice Wednesday, Zach Gershman of the Cardinals' official website reports.
Taylor-Demerson has been sidelined for five straight contests with an ankle injury, but his ability to practice in any capacity is a step in the right direction ahead of Week 16. The safety will have two more chances to log a full practice prior to Sunday's matchup with Atlanta.
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Cardinals' Max Melton: Unavailable for practice
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Melton (heel) did not participate at practice Wednesday, Zach Gershman of the Cardinals' official website reports.
Melton has missed three straight games with a heel injury, and he's now been forced to sit out the team's first practice session of the week. Melton will have two more chances to return to practice prior to Sunday's matchup with the Falcons.
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Cardinals' Jalen Thompson: Out for Week 16
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Head coach Jonathan Gannon told reporters Wednesday that Thompson (hamstring) won't play in Sunday's matchup against the Falcons, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com reports.
The Washington State product is now in line to miss his second consecutive game due to a hamstring injury. Thompson has been a crucial part of the Cardinals' defense this season, recording 81 total tackles, including 1.0 sacks, six passes defensed and one forced fumble. Kitan Crawford will likely have an expanded role on Arizona's first-team defense until Thompson returns from injury.
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Cardinals' Budda Baker: Posts eight tackles in defeat
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Baker recorded eight tackles (five solo) in the Cardinals' 40-20 loss to the Texans on Sunday.
Baker has at least eight tackles in seven of his 14 appearances this season and has now produced 101 tackles (46 solo), including 0.5 sacks, four pass breakups, including one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery on 99 percent of the defensive snaps during the 2025 campaign.
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Cardinals' Akeem Davis-Gaither: Season-high 11 tackles in loss
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Davis-Gaither recorded 11 tackles (four solo) in Arizona's loss to Houston on Sunday.
With Mack Wilson (ribs) still on injured reserve, Davis-Gaither played 100 percent of the defensive snaps against the Texans, which equated to a season-high 67 snaps. He answered with a season-best 11 tackles, his third game with double-digit tackles in 2025. Through 14 appearances on the year, Davis-Gaither has produced 96 tackles (43 solo), four pass breakups, including one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery on 66 percent of the defensive snaps. He's also played 166 snaps on special teams for the Cardinals.
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Cardinals' Cody Simon: Unable to continue Sunday
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Simon (knee) has been ruled out for the remainder of Sunday's matchup against the Texans, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official sitereports.
Simon exited the game in the first quarter of Sunday's Week 15 game with a knee injury and, after further evaluation, has been ruled out for the second half against the Texans. The 23-year-old has 46 tackles (19 solo) and one pass breakup in 12 games this season. Channing Tindall will get more reps with Simon out.
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Cardinals' Cody Simon: Exits with knee injury
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Simon (knee) is questionable to return to Sunday's game against the Texans, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.
Simon appeared to injure his left knee in the first quarter, and he's being evaluated by medical staff to determine whether he can return. Baron Browning and Akeem Davis-Gaither are the top candidates to work with the first-team defense for as long as Simon is sidelined.
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Cardinals' L.J. Collier: Won't play Week 15
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Collier (knee) was not activated from injured reserve Saturday and has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Texans, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.
Collier is progressing in his recovery from a knee injury that caused him to land on injured reserve in mid-September. He's not quite ready to be activated from IR, and his next opportunity to play is Week 16 against the Falcons on Sunday, Dec. 21.
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Cardinals' Bilal Nichols: Moved to IR
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Nichols (knee) was placed on injured reserve Saturday.
Nichols was already ruled out for Sunday's game against Houston after he sustained a knee injury during last week's loss to the Rams. With Arizona already eliminated from playoff contention, this transaction means that the 29-year-old will now miss the remainder of the season on IR. Nichols totaled three tackles over four appearances in 2025.
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Cardinals' Dadrion Taylor-Demerson: Ruled out Week 15
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Taylor-Demerson (ankle) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Texans, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.
Taylor-Demerson is slated to miss a fifth consecutive game due to an ankle injury, and there doesn't appear to be a clear timeline for his return, given his absence from practice since sustaining the injury. Taylor-Demerson's next chance to play is Week 16 against the Falcons on Sunday, Dec. 21, though he's unlikely to suit up for that game unless he's cleared to practice in at least a limited capacity.
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Cardinals' Walter Nolen: Tagged as questionable Week 15
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Nolen (knee) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Texans, Bo Brack of GoPHNX.com reports.
The rookie first-rounder was limited in practice during Week 15 prep, giving him a shot at returning Sunday from a two-game absence due to a knee injury. Nolen has played in just four of 14 regular-season games due to knee and calf injuries, and when he's played he has accumulated eight tackles (seven solo), including 1.0 sacks, one pass defense and one fumble recovery.
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Cardinals' Bilal Nichols: Won't play vs. Houston
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Nichols (knee) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Texans, Bo Brack of GoPHNX.com reports.
Nichols was unable to practice all week due to a knee injury that he sustained during the Cardinals' Week 14 loss to the Rams. Dante Stills and rookie third-rounder Jordan Burch are slated to see more rotational snaps at defensive end alongside Josh Sweat in Nichols' absence. Nichols will aim to progress enough in his recovery to return for Arizona's Week 16 tilt against Atlanta on Sunday, Dec. 21.
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Cardinals' Jalen Thompson: Won't play Sunday
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Thompson (hamstring) has been ruled out ahead of Sunday's matchup against the Texans, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.
Thompson logged consecutive DNPs to begin the Cardinals' week of practice due to a hamstring injury, so it's no surprise that he'll be sidelined Sunday. The Washington State product has appeared in all 13 of Arizona's games thus far, recording 81 total tackles, six passes defensed and one forced fumble. While he's out for Week 15, Kitan Crawford is expected to operate as one of Arizona's top safeties.
