Nolen Re-Injures His Leg, and the Cardinals' Defensive Line Situation Gets Worse

Yesterday I wrote that Arizona's defensive line was down to one reliable starter. Then Walter Nolen III went and re-injured his left leg on August 2, one day after the Cardinals activated him.

That's the sequence. Nolen was brought back to active status on August 1 as part of the corresponding move when PJ Mustipher went to injured reserve. He lasted roughly 24 hours before the same leg — calf, knee, the exact nature still unclear — flared up again. He's listed as active on the injury report, but the re-injury news is out there and the uncertainty around him is real.

I noted in the August 3 piece that Josh Sweat is on PUP with a knee issue and Kaleb Proctor is already on injured reserve after tearing his meniscus. That's three defensive linemen who have either missed time or are now compromised before a preseason snap has been played. Andrew Billings is the one established interior presence who has stayed healthy. Behind him, the depth chart at DT shows no one with meaningful playing time last season. The DL group — Zach Carter, Darius Robinson, Nolen — has produced nothing yet in a Cardinals uniform.

The Hall of Fame Game is days away. The Cardinals claimed two players on August 4, so the front office is clearly aware of the problem. Whether those additions address the line specifically isn't clear from what's been reported. What is clear is that a unit already thin on the depth chart just got thinner.