Category: Cardinals vs. Rams

Cardinals activate Leki Fotu from IR; Larry Fitzgerald remains on COVID list

Arizona makes some roster moves on Saturday.

The Arizona Cardinals announced three roster moves Saturday on the eve of their Week 13 battle against the Los Angeles Rams. They get back another defensive lineman but will not have receiver Larry Fitzgerald for the second week in a row.

Fotu, who was designated for return this week and practiced, has been activated from injured reserve. He will likely play on Sunday, giving the Cardinals almost all their injured defensive linemen back. Zach Allen was activated last week and Rashard Lawrence was this week. Jordan Phillips remains on IR as well as Corey Peters, although Peters suffered a season-ending injury.

Fitzgerald was not removed from the Reserve/COVID-19 list. Running back D.J. Foster was elevated from the practice squad as a COVID replacement. Foster has been brought up from the practice squad every week he has been healthy.

The Cardinals also elevated tight end Seth DeValve from the practice squad as a standard elevation. He will be the Cardinals’ third tight end with Darrell Daniels still on injured reserve.

Kickoff Sunday is at 2:05 p.m. Arizona time. at State Farm Stadium.

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Behind Enemy Lines: Cardinals-Rams preview with Rams Wire

Check out what Rams Wire has to say about this weekend’s matchup.

The Arizona Cardinals face the Los Angeles Rams Sunday afternoon at State Farm Stadium in a matchup with playoff implications. It is the first of two games they will play against each other in the final five weeks of the season.

To help preview the game, Rams Wire managing editor Cameron DaSilva answers some questions.

Check out what he has to say about the Rams and the game tomorrow.


DL Sebastian Joseph-Day questionable for Rams vs. Cardinals

Check out the Rams’ final injury report of the week before they play the Cardinals on Sunday.

The Los Angeles Rams have a short injury report this week. They have ruled out only one player with two who are questionable.

Rookie linebacker Terrell Lewis continues to be sidelined with a knee injury. He did not practice all week and has been ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals.

Offensive lineman Brian Allen, who has not played this season, is questionable with a knee injury. He was limited in practice all week.

Defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day is also questionable. He has been dealing with a hip injury. He did not practice on Thursday but was upgraded to limited reps on Friday.

Defensive lineman Michael Brockers was a new addition to the injury because he was given the day off on Friday. He is not injured.

The game kicks off at 2:05 p.m. Arizona time on Sunday.

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Kyler Murray, Justin Pugh set to play vs. Rams on Sunday

Only Jalen Thompson has been ruled out of Sunday’s game.

The Arizona Cardinals released their final injury report of the week and are in good shape healthwise. They will have a healthy offense and only have one player ruled out of the game.

Quarterback Kyler Murray was a full participant for the second day in a row and has no game designation. He is good to go.

Safety Jalen Thompson did not practice again with his ankle injury and is out for the second week in a row.

Defensive lineman Rashard Lawrence, recently activated from injured reserve, was limited for the third straight day and is questionable. Also questionable is defensive lineman Angelo Blackson, who was a new addition to the injury report on Friday. He sat out with an illness, while safety Charles Washington (groin) was limited for the second day in a row and is questionable, although he was questionable last week and still played.

Just guessing, expect Lawrence to perhaps miss the game, while Blackson and Washington will play.

Everyone else on the injury report was a full participant on Friday, including guard Justin Pugh (ankle), cornerback Johnathan Joseph (knee, ankle) and defensive lineman Zach Allen (ankle). They all had been limited in practice prior to Friday.

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Cardinals K Zane Gonzalez’ kicking issues seem to be in only one area

he has been automatic from every range…except from 40-49 yards. He has been inexplicably unreliable from that distance.

Arizona Cardinals kicker Zane Gonzalez is not a popular player among fans right now. He had the chance to potentially win the game last week against the New England Patriots, but his 45-yard field goal went wide right with 1:47 left in the game.

The Pats went on to get a 50-yard field goal as time expired to win the game 20-17.

That led to questions for head coach Kliff Kingsbury about his kicker. Kingsbury consistently talks about how good Gonzalez has been for them.

The problem is there is one area in which he has not been good at all.

He has been consistent. He is good from any range except from 40-49 yards.

This season, he has been perfect from inside 40. He is 2-for-3 from 50 and beyond and that one miss came in the season opener.

He is 8-for-12 from 40-49 yards.

It is a peculiar inconsistency. Three of those kicks were potential game-tying or game-winning kicks in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter.

This isn’t a new issue. He was fantastic in 2019 for the Cardinals, but three of his four missed kicks were from that range.

Since the start of 2019, he has missed nine field goals. Seven of them are from 40-49 yards. He has made 13-of-20 kicks from that range in two seasons — only a 65% conversion rate. He has made 30-of-31(96.8% accuracy) from inside 40 yards and 5-of-6 (83.3% accuracy) from 50 and beyond.

What can the Cardinals do?

Because of his guaranteed salary at $3.25 million, they save no money by cutting him, and Mike Nugent, the kicker they have on the practice squad, doesn’t feel like an upgrade.

What they can do is, especially at the end of games, understand that they can’t rely on him from that range. They have to get to the 20-yard line to feel good about an end-of-game situation.

In recent games, Kingsbury has been content with relying on Gonzalez from that range. He will have to be a little more aggressive in the games to come to avoid another failure.

As for Gonzalez, if he wants to have a lengthy career in the league, it is a range he has to be more reliable in. he has the leg to be great. He has some of the best leg talent in the league. But he won’t be more than a journeyman if he can’t be relied upon from that money range of 40-49 yards.

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Cardinals-Rams preview: The most important game of the year

A pivotal matchup in the NFC will take place on Sunday between the Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams.

The Arizona Cardinals’ 20-17 loss to the New England Patriots was brutal in more ways than I’d like to recall.

It is now December in the NFL. No loss in the past matters, as this month decides whether the Cardinals make the playoffs for the first time since 2015. They can finish anywhere from 6-10 to 11-5, so the stakes are very high.

The Cardinals should be entering this game at 7-4. At 6-5, however, things get a bit more complicated. Their opponent on Sunday, the Los Angeles Rams, are 7-4 following a loss to the surging San Francisco 49ers.

This Sunday features two teams who both desperately need this win and are coming off painful losses.


Rams DL Sebastian Joseph-Day downgraded on Thursday injury report

Check out the second injury report of the week.

The Los Angeles Rams had one upgrade and one downgrade on their second injury report of the week. They are getting ready to play the Arizona Cardinals this weekend.

Defensive tackle Aaron Donald was a full participant on Wednesday but did not have an injury. He had a day off. He was back at work on Thursday as a full participant.

However, fellow defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day, who was limited with a hip injury on Wednesday, had to sit out on Thursday, placing in doubt his availability for Sunday’s game.

Rookie linebacker Terrell Lewis (knee) was out for the second straight day and offensive lineman Brian Allen (knee) was limited for the second day in a row.

Did not participate

  • LB Terrell Lewis (knee)
  • DL Sebastian Joseph-Day (hip)

Limited participation

  • OL Brian Allen (knee)

Full participation

  • DL Aaron Donald (rest)

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Kyler Murray practices fully on Thursday for Cardinals

Check out the Cardinals’ second injury report of the week.

The Arizona Cardinals released their second injury report and there is good news. Only one player sat out and quarterback Kyler Murray was upgraded.

Murray, who was limited on Wednesday with a shoulder injury he suffered two games ago against the Seattle Seahawks, was a full participant on Thursday.

Safety Jalen Thompson (ankle) was unable to practice for the second day in a row.

Five players were limited. Left guard Justin Pugh (ankle) was upgraded from a DNP on Wednesday to get limited work. So was safety Charles Washington (groin).

Defensive lineman Zach Allen (ankle), defensive lineman Rashard Lawrence (calf) and cornerback Johnathan Joseph (knee, ankle) were limited for the second day in a row.

Receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who had the day off Wednesday, was a full participant on Thursday. Tight end Dan Arnold (knee) practiced fully after being limited Wednesday. Linebacker Tanner Vallejo (concussion) also went from limited to full. Offensive lineman Justin Murray (hand) was full for the second day in a row.

Did not participate

  • S Jalen Thompson (ankle)

Limited participation

  • G Justin Pugh (ankle)
  • S Charles Washington (groin)
  • DL Zach Allen (ankle)
  • DL Rashard Lawrence (calf)
  • CB Johnathan Joseph (knee, ankle)

Full participation

  • QB Kyler Murray (shoulder)
  • TE Dan Arnold (knee)
  • OL Justin Murray (hand)
  • LB Tanner Vallejo (concussion)
  • WR DeAndre Hopkins (Wednesday rest)

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Deionte Thompson activated from COVID list

Only Larry Fitzgerald remains on the list.

The Arizona Cardinals got another player back on Thursday. The team announced that safety Deionte Thompson was reinstated to the active roster from the COVID-19 reserve. He was placed on the list last week.

The Cardinals had three players on the list last week — Thompson, receiver Trent Sherfield and receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

Sherfield was reactivated earlier this week.

That only leaves Fitzgerald, who reportedly contracted the virus, on the list. Because of when he was added to the list last week, it seems very likely he will miss Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams.

Thompson’s return will be big for the safety room. Jalen Thompson is recovering from an ankle injury and Charles Washington is dealing with a groin injury. While he did not miss the game on Sunday, he was not 100% and only Budda Baker and Chris Banjo were healthy.

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No, Kliff Kingsbury could not be the Cardinals’ emergency QB

The Broncos actually inquired about this last week and were told no.

The Denver Broncos found themselves in a situation last week without a quarterback on the roster who was able to play. Because of a positive coronavirus test combined with a lack of compliance with COVID protocols, all the quarterbacks on their roster were on the COVID list for Week 12.

They used practice squad receiver Kendall Hinton at quarterback. He played quarterback three years in college.

What if the Arizona Cardinals had a situation like that and needed an emergency quarterback?

Head coach Kliff Kingsbury is a former NFL quarterback. He would not be able to play, even if signed to a player contract.

The Broncos tried that and were told no.

They didn’t try to have head coach Vic Fangio do it. The Broncos asked if assistant coaches Rob Calabrese and Justin Rascati could be signed as players, according to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis.

That apparently is not allowed. The league doesn’t want teams hiding players among coaches.

“The Broncos request to sign quality control coach Rob Calabrese to the roster as a quarterback that was denied by the NFL was rooted in a longtime league rule that prevents teams from stashing players on their coaching staff,” ESPN’s Chris Mortensen tweeted on Sunday morning.

Kingsbury told media members the team has considered situations like this and there are a “number of contingency plans as far as the emergency goes.”

He would not reveal any of those options, but we know that he would not be one of them.

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