Zay Jones was one of four wide receivers who tried out for the Cardinals on Tuesday. He joined Ronnie Bell, James Proche and Xavier Guillory on the practice field.
The Cardinals are signing Jones, according to multiple reports.
It is unclear whether Jones is joining the practice squad or the active roster, but the team announced it placed wide receiver Jalen Brooks on season-ending injured reserve on Tuesday. The Cardinals were already thin at the position after the trade of Marvin Harrison Jr. on Oct. 11.
Jones, 31, has played nine NFL seasons, including a previous stint with the Cardinals. He appeared in 11 games for the Cardinals in 2024 and eight last season, missing time for a suspension in 2024 and for a torn Achilles in 2025.
He has 20 receptions for 267 yards with the team.
Jones became a free agent in August when the Texans cut him out of the preseason.
Cardinals Clips
The Cardinals placed wide receiver Jalen Brooks on season-ending injured reserve, the team announced Tuesday.
Brooks announced on social media that he underwent emergency surgery on his wrist after dislocating it in Sunday’s game. He played the final three quarters with the dislocation.
“He didn’t say anything to anybody and just looking back at it and seeing it on tape, you could see every once in a while, he’s kind of messing with it a little bit,” coach Mike LaFleur said Monday, via Darren Urban of the team website. “I can’t say enough about how tough that dude is.”
Brooks, 26, played 64 percent of the team’s offensive snaps on Sunday and made one catch for 35 yards. He finishes his season with five catches for 81 yards.
The Cardinals did not announce a corresponding move.
They did announce the re-signing of offensive lineman Austin Deculus and safety Wydett Williams Jr. to the practice squad. Safety Jerrick Reed II was released from the practice squad.
After defeating the division-rival Rams in Week 6, the Cardinals extended their home losing streak on Sunday with a 30-16 loss to the Broncos.
It was another unremarkable performance on offense, which has put the spotlight on Arizona’s quarterback, Jacoby Brissett.
But Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur reiterated in his Monday press conference that the team is sticking with the veteran as QB1.
“Like I told you guys, he’s still the starter,” LaFleur said, via transcript from the team. “It’s collective. Again, if the ball was just stagnant for 60 minutes and you couldn’t even cross the 50-yard line, it’d be one thing. We’ve been down inside the 10-yard line 10 times over the last two games, so the ball is moving, but we have to finish jobs. Again, that starts with me but that’s a collective effort. The players have to go execute and I have to put them in better positions and give them the clarity to go do so. When they do have that clarity, they have to make the plays. We know that. We’re not going to shy away from that.
“We know we have to finish the job when we’re down there, and I don’t even think we’re having these conversations right now [if we had].”
Brissett is currently leading the league with 282 passing attempts, which likely has to do with the Cardinals playing from behind so much. He’s completed 65 percent of his passes for 1,600 yards with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions in seven games.
Perhaps complicating the matter is that Carson Beck is dealing with a back injury. It doesn’t seem like LaFleur is particularly inclined to turn to Beck at this time anyway, but the rookie missed two practices last week with the issue.
“It just kind of flared up on him, honestly,” LaFleur said. “He just had a little bit of a back spasm. Again, when you’re torquing the way these guys torque, that’s not fun. I don’t know if anyone’s ever had back spasms here, but they suck.”
The Cardinals will be on the road to face the Cowboys in Week 8. Their bye isn’t until Week 14.
Jeremiyah Love has missed the past two games with a sprained left ankle, but the Cardinals running back is close to returning.
“Jeremiyah will be out there at practice on Wednesday, so we’ll see how the week goes,” coach Mike LaFleur said Monday, via video from PHNX_Cardinals.
Love, the third overall pick, injured his right ankle in the preseason. He played through his left ankle injury, which he sustained in Week 4, before the Cardinals shut him down to let it heal.
Bam Knight and Tyler Allgeier have replaced Love in the backfield.
Love has 67 carries for 245 yards and a touchdown and 11 catches for 36 yards and a touchdown.
The news is not as good for defensive tackle Walter Nolen III, who has an ankle injury. LaFleur said Nolen will not practice Wednesday, but “a lot can happen in these next two days.”
Cardinals wide receiver Jalen Brooks announced on social media that he will undergo season-ending wrist surgery.
“Have to get an emergency surgery on my wrist,” Brooks wrote. “I don’t need phone calls . . . just prayers. I’ll be done for the season.”
Brooks, 26, played 64 percent of the team’s offensive snaps on Sunday and made one catch for 35 yards before his injury.
The Cardinals’ trade of Marvin Harrison Jr. gave Brooks more play time, and he finishes his fourth season with five catches for 81 yards.
Michael Wilson, Kendrick Bourne and Reggie Virgil are the only wideouts remaining on the active roster who have a catch this season.
The discourse surrounding Broncos quarterback Bo Nix after Week 6’s overtime win over the Seahawks was negative, but that’s unlikely to be the case after this Sunday’s game.
Nix ran for a 62-yard touchdown and went 15-of-29 for 222 yards and another touchdown to lead the Broncos to a 30-16 road win over the Cardinals. The win extends the team’s winning streak to three games and leaves them at 5-2 heading into next Sunday’s home game against the Chiefs.
The Chiefs blew the Broncos out in Week 1, but a Denver win next week would set up a good race in the AFC West over the second half of the season. More of the big plays that the Broncos used to fuel Sunday’s win would make that a likelier result.
In addition to Nix’s touchdown, the Broncos saw running back RJ Harvey break a short pass for a 52-yard touchdown and wide receiver Marvin Mims picked up 47 yards to set up a JK Dobbins touchdown run. Those are three of the four longest plays of the year for the Broncos and the team will be looking to build on that in the weeks to come.
A less positive development for the Broncos were a pair of late injuries. Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle hurt his chest and defensive lineman Zach Allen hurt his hamstring late in the fourth quarter and neither player returned. That will make their status something to watch as they head into their date with Kansas City.
The Cardinals got 10 catches for 111 yards and a touchdown from tight end Trey McBride, but they never really recovered from failing to score touchdowns on two first half trips inside the Broncos’ 10-yard-line. A last-ditch effort in the final two minutes brought them back to the Denver 1-yard-line, but the Broncos defense held and the game came to an end after Nix kneeled out the clock.
Arizona is now 2-5 and they’ll head to Dallas for a game against the Cowboys next Sunday.
Explosive plays were in short supply for the Broncos in the first six weeks of the season, but they’ve found them in this Sunday’s trip to Arizona.
Quarterback Bo Nix’s 62-yard touchdown run in the second quarter staked the team to a 13-6 halftime lead and they came up with two more in the third quarter. Running back RJ Harvey caught a short pass from Nix and followed his blockers to an untouched 52-yard touchdown that put the Broncos up by 14 points.
After a Cardinals touchdown turned it back into a one-score game, Nix found wide receiver Marvin Mims for a 47-yard gain that set the Broncos up inside the 10-yard-line. A pass interference penalty moved them to the 1-yard-line and running back JK Dobbins scored on the next play.
That was also the final play of the third quarter and the Broncos are now up 27-13 in Arizona.
The Cardinals defense was able to hold the Broncos in check for most of the first half of Sunday’s game in Arizona, but one big play has made the difference for the visiting team.
Broncos quarterback Bo Nix broke loose for a 62-yard touchdown run on a scramble in the second quarter. That broke a 6-6 tie and the Broncos forced a pair of Cardinals punts to head into halftime with a 13-6 lead.
Denver only managed 98 net yards on their other 28 offensive plays in the first two quarters and they were 1-of-7 on third downs on their way to three punts of their own. Nix is 10-of-19 for 72 yards through the air and their eight non-Nix running plays have netted 30 yards.
The Cardinals haven’t been any better on offense. They have 117 yards and both of their field goals came after drives that moved inside the Broncos’ 10-yard-line. Their eight plays inside that territory have resulted in four yards and falling short in that area joins Nix’s big plays as the reason why the Cardinals are trailing at home.
Ryan Fitzpatrick might have a higher opinion of Bo Nix than he did the last time he saw the Broncos quarterback on the field.
Nix broke loose for a 62-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter of Sunday’s game in Arizona and the Broncos lead the Cardinals 13-6 as a result. It was the longest play of the season for the Broncos and it was their first run of at least 20 yards all year.
Nix only had 37 rushing yards this season before that big play and the lack of threat as a runner had some wondering if his ankle was all the way back from last season’s injury. That question was part of a diatribe from Fitzpatrick last Thursday that concluded with the Prime Video talking head calling Nix’s play “garbage” so far this season.
Sunday’s touchdown certainly didn’t fit that description and the Broncos hope that it’s a sign of things to come for the quarterback.
The Broncos will be without cornerback Pat Surtain II again on Sunday.
Surtain was listed as questionable to play against the Cardinals after returning to practice this week, but he landed on the team’s inactive list on Sunday afternoon. It is the third straight game that Surtain has missed with an ankle injury.
Quarterback Sam Ehlinger, safety Talanoa Hufanga, offensive lineman Kage Casey, tight end Dallen Bentley, defensive lineman Jordan Jackson, and defensive lineman Tyler Onyedim are the other inactives for Denver.
Safety Budda Baker is active for the Cardinals after being tagged as questionable due to a groin injury and an illness. Cornerback Max Melton was also questionable and he will not play due to a knee injury.
Running back Jeremiyah Love, offensive lineman Jon Gaines, safety Andrew Wingard, and defensive lineman Walter Nolen were ruled out on Friday. Quarterback Carson Beck and offensive lineman Albert Reese are the other inactives.
