Arizona Cardinals get major injury boost on first-round pick

Walter Nolen is, finally, ready to practice.

The Arizona Cardinals opened his three-week practice window on Wednesday, Oct. 15 — three months after the first-round defensive tackle suffered a calf injury that has sidelined him ever since.

At the time, it was unclear whether Nolen’s injury would sideline him to start the season. That timeline, though, stretched well into the fall, as Nolen has missed the Cardinals' first six games.

With his practice window now open, the Cardinals must add Nolen to the active roster by Nov. 5, or he would be out for the season. They play the Green Bay Packers in Week 7, followed by a Week 8 bye and a Week 9 trip to the Dallas Cowboys. The latest Nolen could return would be Week 10, against the Seattle Seahawks.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon said that the Cardinals will not treat Nolen’s return protocol any differently because he’s a rookie who missed training camp. While he was out, the team put him through visualization exercises and regular quizzing to minimize his acclimation period once he returned to practice.

“It always takes repetition, no matter what, because it's the processing of what's moving in front of you,” defensive coordinator Nick Rallis said last month. “But the more we can chip away at that (the better). … It's preparing like you're a starter still so that when that time comes, you're ready to roll.”

For the Cardinals' defense, Nolen’s return could provide a crucial boost.

Outside of Calais Campbell, they have struggled to get any impact from their defensive tackles as pass rushers. Campbell has three sacks and 16 pressures this season on 141 pass rush snaps. The rest of that position group has one sack and 15 pressures on 488 pass rush snaps — a poor 3.1% pressure rate.

And at age 39, Campbell cannot play as much as he once did. This season, he’s been on the field for slightly fewer than half of the Cardinals' defensive snaps.

Nolen, though, should instantly become the Cardinals' most explosive defensive tackle. That was his standout trait in college. In his final college season, at Ole Miss, he had 6.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss, generating pressure at a 9.7% clip.

“The tape spoke for itself,” Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort said after drafting Nolen. “Violent, disruptive, high motor, tenacious, three-down player. Hard to find those guys that can affect the pocket from the interior of the formation.”

Mixed injury news with Kyler Murray, others

The Cardinals did not practice on Oct. 15, instead opting for a walk-through — a decision for which Gannon did not offer much explanation.

“Best thing for the team to get us ready to go for Sunday,” Gannon said. “Full tomorrow, full on Friday.”

Gannon, though, did say that defensive lineman Darius Robinson would be present at the walk-through and return to practice this week after missing the Cardinals' past two games with a chest injury.

Gannon also said that cornerback Garrett Williams is “doing well,” although he will not practice this week. This is the first week that Williams would have been eligible to be activated from injured reserve with a knee injury suffered in Week 2.

Gannon offered less information on the rest of the Cardinals' injured players.

When asked how Kyler Murray is coming along with his foot injury, Gannon responded only, “Yes.”

“Make sure that he’s healthy enough to play,” Gannon said. “We’ll progress him along here this week and see where he’s at.”

Marvin Harrison Jr., meanwhile, is in concussion protocol after exiting in the second quarter against the Colts.

Emari Demercado, Gannon said, is doing “pretty good” with an ankle injury that also forced him out of the Colts' loss.

The Cardinals did make one roster move, placing tight end Travis Vokolek on season-ending injured reserve after he was carted off with a neck injury against the Colts. In his place, they signed tight end Josiah Deguara from the practice squad.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals get Walter Nolen injury boost, Kyler Murray news