Paris

Johnson

Baker entered the league’s concussion protocol earlier this week after going down in Week 16’s game against the Falcons. The star safety will miss at least one game due to his brain injury, with backup safety Kitan Crawford looking like the next man up to fill his role. In addition to Baker, the Cardinals also ruled out LT Paris Johnson (knee), and CB Kei’Tre Clark (knee) for Week 17.

The Cardinals reportedly plan to “ease” Harrison back into action today. Teams often cast aside snap-count plans if their recently injured star player is feeling good early in their return, but Harrison has not yet established himself as a player who regularly exceeds expectations. The prudent move is to treat WR Michael Wilson as a fantasy football WR2 and view Harrison as a WR4/FLEX. Cardinals WR Xavier Weaver (hamstring) is also active. The Cardinals declared CB Max Melton (heel), CB Elijah Jones, CB Darren Hall (concussion), S Jalen Thompson (hamstring), OL Evan Brown (personal) and LT Paris Johnson Jr. (knee) inactive for Week 16 against the Falcons.

Johnson left Week 14’s loss to the Rams with an MCL injury and would seem likely to miss Arizona’s Week 15 game against the Cardinals. Losing Johnson ahead of a matchup with the ferocious Texans pass rush is bad news for Jacoby Brissett and the entire Cardinals offense. Brissett remains a solid streaming option based on pass volume alone.

Cardinals reporters noted that he stayed on the sideline after being ruled out, but the Cardinals don’t exactly have a reason to push Johnson through this injury given they’re already eliminated from playoff contention. Arizona has just one starter left from its season-opening line and faces the Texans in Week 15. Jacoby Brissett was already pummeled by the Rams on Sunday and Week 15 shapes up as more of the same.

Kyler Murray will have his top-tier left tackle protecting his blindside against the Seahawks’ pass rush this evening. The Cardinals declared CB Will Johnson, WR Zay Jones, LB Xavier Thomas, OL Will Hernandez, OL Demontrey Jacobs and TE Travis Vokelek inactive for Week 4 against the Seahawks. The Cardinals’ secondary is in rough shape. They lost CB Starling Thomas V to a torn ACL this summer and placed CB Garrett Williams on injured reserve last week with a knee injury of his own. Johnson has played very well when available. Hopefully, his groin injury heals up in time for Week 5.

Johnson was questionable and missed Week 3 on the questionable line with this knee injury. Arizona’s top left tackle should help give Kyler Murray a little extra time against a fierce Seahawks front on Thursday night.

Johnson did not practice all week after already missing Week 3. He is listed as doubtful to play Thursday against the Seahawks. Meanwhile, fellow CB Darren Hall (ankle) is listed as questionable. Also questionable are LB Akeem Davis-Gaither (elbow) and OL Kelvin Beachum (knee), Evan Brown (heel), Paris Johnson Jr. (knee), and Will Hernandez (knee). Missing Johnson and Brown especially would deplete the left side of the Cardinals’ offensive line.

Both players are done for 2024. They signed Jackson Barton off the practice squad in a corresponding move. Johnson had an extremely successful sophomore season, finishing with a 80.8 PFF grade and should be Arizona’s blindside tackle in 2025. Williams played just 343 snaps while dealing with injuries and will be on the final year of a two-year, $30 million deal he signed with the Cardinals last offseason. It’s possible the Cardinals could cut Williams after an injury-plagued season, but they’d only free up a little over $3 million in cap space if they did so the normal way. Kyler Murray’s line will be in rough shape for Weeks 17 and 18.

Arizona will be without both of its starting tackles this week after being eliminated from postseason contention in Week 16 against the Panthers. It’s bad news for Kyler Murray and the Cardinals offense, and it makes the Rams defense an interesting fantasy option off the waiver wire. The Cards headed into Week 17 have what Pro Football Focus grades as the NFL’s fifth best pass-blocking offensive line.

Benson and Johnson were both ruled out before the weekend, meaning DeeJay Dallas will likely serve as the RB2 behind James Conner. There’s no fantasy upside in this backfield outside of Conner, who profiles as a solid RB1 for the week.