It looks like yet another Cardinals player has suffered a major injury.
Per NFL Media, Williams is feared to have torn his ACL during Sunday’s loss to the Falcons.
Williams, 24, is in his third year with the Cardinals after he was selected at No. 72 overall in the 2023 draft. He’s started 10 games this year, recording five passes defensed with one interception and a forced fumble.
In all, Williams has played 35 games with 27 starts, recording 16 passes defensed with four interceptions.
Cardinals Clips
Falcons running back Bijan Robinson turned in a big game today in Arizona, totaling 16 carries for 76 yards and seven catches for 92 yards in a 26-19 win over the Cardinals.
It was a meaningless game in the playoff race, as both teams were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention before today’s game. But it was another opportunity for Robinson to make the case that he is the best running back in football.
Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins completed 21 of 35 passes for 197 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception. Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett completed 16 of 31 passes for 203 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Falcons defensive back C.J. Henderson sealed the win with a diving interception of a Brissett pass as the Cardinals attempted a comeback with 1:30 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Falcons’ win improves their record to 6-9, while the Cardinals’ loss drops their record to 3-12.
Cardinals defensive end Walter Nolen, the 16th overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, suffered what looked like a serious knee injury today against the Falcons.
Nolen was carted to the locker room and the Cardinals quickly announced that he had been ruled out for the rest of the game.
It’s been an ugly game on the injury front for the Cardinals. Defensive lineman Josh Sweat is out with an ankle injury, and defensive back Budda Baker is currently being checked for an injury.
The Falcons lead the Cardinals 19-16 in the third quarter.
Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. plans to return from the heel injury that has kept him from playing in the last two games, but that doesn’t mean he’s completely healthy.
Harrison said he’ll “probably” play injured the rest of the season, according to Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.
Given that the Cardinals are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, it’s fair to ask whether it’s smart for them to let their talented young receiver play injured for three games that don’t mean anything to the future of the franchise. The Cardinals took Harrison with the fourth overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, and when you make that kind of investment in a player, you don’t want him to let an injury at the end of one year turn into something that affects him into the following year.
Harrison said he does think he’ll play on Sunday against the Falcons, but he doesn’t know how big his role will be in the offense.
“Yeah, we’re going to see,” Harrison said. “And whatever my role is, come Sunday, I’m going to do my best to star in my role, help the team win, make the plays if they come to me and just whatever I can do to help the team at this point.”
Helping the team win at this point is nice, but what the Cardinals really need is for Harrison to help the team win in 2026 and beyond.
The Falcons placed wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, the team announced.
Atlanta had already ruled out Hodge for Sunday’s game against the Cardinals after he didn’t practice all week.
Hodge earned Pro Bowl honors last season for his special teams play.
In 12 games this season, Hodge totaled three receptions for 31 yards on offense and nine tackles on special teams.
He played 10 percent of the Falcons’ offensive snaps and 72 percent of the special teams snaps in the games he played this season.
In a corresponding move, the Falcons signed safety Jammie Robinson from the practice squad to the active roster. He has played 57 special teams snaps in three games this season.
Cardinals tight end Trey McBride is on pace to finish this season with more catches than any tight end has ever had in a season in NFL history.
McBride has 105 catches through 14 games, putting him on pace to finish the season with 128 catches, an NFL tight end record.
The current record for tight ends is 116, set by Zach Ertz of the Eagles in 2018.
McBride had 111 catches last season, and his 216 catches over the last two years are the NFL record for catches by a tight end over a two-year stretch.
Falcons receiver Drake London is potentially going to return for Sunday’s matchup with the Cardinals, though that’s still uncertain.
Atlanta has listed London as questionable for the contest. London has missed the last four games with a knee sprain. He was limited on Wednesday and Thursday before sitting out Friday’s practice.
On Thursday, London told reporters he’s trending toward playing this weekend.
“I want to get back out there quick as possible,” London said, via Tori McElhaney of the team’s website. “But everything is going smoothly. I’ve been making good strides and leaps. That’s all I can ask for.”
London has caught 60 passes for 810 yards with six touchdowns so far in 2025.
Edge rusher James Pearce Jr. (foot) and defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus (illness/shoulder) are also questionable for the Falcons.
Receiver KhaDarel Hodge (shoulder) and cornerback Mike Hughes (ankle) have been ruled out.
While tight end Kyle Pitts was limited on Thursday and Friday with a knee issue, he’s off the injury report and is set to play.
The Cardinals will have to try to end their losing streak without the help of left tackle Paris Johnson.
Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said on Friday that Johnson has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Falcons. Johnson will miss his second straight game with a knee injury.
Gannon also ruled out safety Jalen Thompson for the second straight week. Thompson has a hamstring injury.
The Cardinals, who have lost their last six games, will also play without cornerback Max Melton (heel), left guard Evan Brown (personal), and cornerback Darren Hall (concussion). The full list of injury designations for a game between two teams that have already been eliminated from playoff contention will be released later on Friday.
Embattled Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon has a beef regarding the ability to teach his defensive players how to properly do battle during games.
Via Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com, Gannon attributed tackling woes to rules that make it hard to practice tackling.
“How the rules are set up, it’s hard to get better as a tackler being in the NFL, I’ll say that,” Gannon told reporters on Wednesday.
Gannon said the Cardinals have tackling drills in “some way, shape or form because that’s one of the top skills of any defense player,” but he said there’s “no drill you can do that can mimic a game.”
And it all traces, in Gannon’s view, to rules that make it harder to teach and practice tackling.
“It’s set up how it’s set up, that’s fine,” Gannon said. “But to get better at a skill, you have to practice the skill. You practice skill, you can scale it, you can scale the tempo, you can scale how you do it, but to practice a skill, you need to practice the skill.”
The rule changes first emerged with the 2011 CBA negotiations, when the owners closed the deal by agreeing to various terms that ultimately cost the league no money — like reduced padded practices and other changes to the non-game workload.
“And so it’s a conundrum I think all defensive guys face and there’s risk-reward to trying to practice it with it however you set things up,” Gannon said. “But you definitely have to be a good tackling defense to play good defense.”
The reality is that the rules are the same for all teams, and that the rules have been restrictive for 15 seasons now. Also, plenty of teams have managed to teach their players how to tackle in games — or to find players who don’t need any specific drills to know how to do it at the professional level.
From tackling to blocking to everything else that goes into winning football games, the Cardinals collectively don’t have enough. After starting 2-0, they’ve gone 1-11. Which puts Gannon in position to get sacked when the season ends in 18 days.
Falcons receiver Drake London was officially limited in his first practice since Week 11, according to the club’s injury report.
London has been sidelined for the last four games by a PCL sprain.
London has caught 60 passes for 810 yards with six touchdowns so far in 2025.
Falcons running back Bijan Robinson is also on the first injury report of the week, but he was a full participant despite dealing with an illness.
Cornerback Dee Alford was listed the same way, as a full participant on Wednesday despite dealing with an illness.
Receiver KhaDarel Hodge (shoulder), defensive back Mike Hughes (ankle), and edge rusher Leonard Floyd (illness) all did not practice. Quarterback Easton Stick did not practice either, though he was dealing with a personal matter.
