The Arizona Cardinals made a flurry of roster moves today.
ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals announced a handful of roster moves ahead of their Week 17 road meeting against the Los Angeles Rams:
- Signed offensive lineman Jackson Barton to the active roster from the practice squad
- Signed linebacker Benton Whitley to the active roster from the New York Giants practice squad
- Placed offensive linemen Paris Johnson Jr. and Jonah Williams on injured reserve
- Re-signed cornerback Darren Hall to the practice squad
Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon previously ruled Williams and Johnson our for Week 17 but did not elaborate if they would also miss Arizona’s regular season finale against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 18.
Barton now looks to anchor the opposite side of the line of scrimmage opposite of Kelvin Beachum Jr. for their final two games, as the Cardinals will finish with backup tackles on each side of the ball.
Hall returns to the Cardinals after an impressive preseason stint with the team, as the versatile defensive back produced in a variety of roles before not making the active roster.
More on Whitley from the team’s Media Relations Dept.:
“Whitley (6-4, 260) played two games with the Giants this season and has also spent time on New York’s practice squad. He has appeared in six games in the NFL with the Giants and Vikings after entering the league in 2022 with the Rams as an undrafted rookie free agent from Holy Cross. The 25-year old Whitley spent his rookie season on the practice squads of the Chiefs and Vikings. While at Holy Cross, Whitley played in 42 games and had 111 tackles, 15.5 sacks, 26.5 tackles for loss, two passes defensed and one forced fumble.”
The Cardinals will release their first injury report of Week 17 later today.
Cardinals Lose Two First-Round Pick Offensive Linemen for Rest of 2024 Season
The Arizona Cardinals have lost two key offensive linemen, both first-round picks, for the remainder of the 2024 season. According to NFL Insider Adam Schefter, “Cardinals placed offensive linemen Paris Johnson Jr. and Jonah Williams on season-ending injured reserve.”
The Cardinals, now eliminated from postseason contention, will face the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday without either of their starting offensive tackles, Johnson and Williams.
This disappointing turn of events follows a 36-30 overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, where the team failed to perform at their best.
Compounding their struggles, the Rams’ 19-9 victory over the New York Jets has officially ended any remaining hopes of a playoff berth for Arizona, leaving them to watch the postseason from the sidelines. It will make this post-Christmas game a somber one for Arizona, at the very least.
Johnson, who had played the second-most snaps for the Cardinals this season, missed his first game of the year in Carolina due to a strained MCL. The injury has now led to him being placed on injured reserve, ruling him out for the final two games of 2024.
Williams, signed in the offseason to start at right tackle for the Arizona Cardinals, has had a tumultuous first season with the team, marked by two right knee injuries. After playing just one quarter in Week 1, he suffered a knee injury that placed him on IR until after the team’s bye week.
Williams returned to the active roster and started four games at right tackle before injuring the same knee again in the third quarter of last weekend’s game against the Panthers, forcing him to exit and not return. Now he’s back on IR.
Williams, selected by the Bengals in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Alabama, was an unrestricted free agent this offseason before signing with the Cardinals in March. Meanwhile, Johnson, a consensus All-American in his final season at Ohio State, made the transition from right guard to left tackle in 2022. The Cardinals then selected him with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
The Cardinals have had an aggravating season and it seems they are going to end it the same way, with a severely hampered offensive line.
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