The Cardinals currently have 28 players who have missed a total of 131 games in 2025.
The 2024 version of the Arizona Cardinals ended the season as one of the most injured teams in the NFL, and this year is shaping up to be even worse.
It always baffles me when those on the outside of teams accept at face value the rehearsed responses when coaches or players parrot the company line of cliches when asked about the effect of injuries. You know what they are.
“All teams have injuries,” which is followed by the usual “next-man-up” refrain. It’s what they have to say or be criticized for making excuses. So, it’s up to those of us that follow the game closely to point out the reality. It should be easy to realize that accepting injuries as being critical isn’t making excuses. It’s simply an explanation of what obviously contributes to what happens on the field.
Yes, all teams have injuries (although the Baltimore Ravens had no players on their Friday report last week, while the Cardinals had 10). However, no teams are alike in terms of numbers or when they hit specific position groups. In addition, while there are times when the “next man up” does well, the reality is that there’s a reason many players are backups and that when more have to play than expected, the result often affects the ability to win.
After the Buffalo Bills were steamrolled 30-13 by the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, while discussing the team’s injuries, head coach Sean McDermott felt compelled to begin by saying, “We’ll never use injuries as an excuse,” but then added, “We do need to look to continue turning over every stone to figure out why this is happening. I feel like it’s happened quite a bit year to year. This year is probably as much as I’ve been around.”
We all probably should be amazed there aren’t even more injuries than there are, given the nature of the sport, especially at this level.
The Bills currently have 10 players who have been placed on injured reserve since the cutdown to 53 players and seven are on defense. Last season, when they faced the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game, they had three on IR. The Chiefs had eight. The two NFC teams (Philadelphia and Washington) in the conference title game had seven and five, respectively.
The Cardinals’ next opponent, the San Francisco 49ers, have three significant defensive players on injured reserve – defensive ends Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams, plus linebacker Fred Warner – and lost to the Los Angeles Rams Sunday, 42-26.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan was frank Monday when he was asked, “It seemed like this week was the week that all the injuries caught up to you guys. Did you feel like that?”
He admitted, “Yeah, I think when we know what our issue’s been for a while now, I think a lot of those guys got banged up during the practice week, which I think made it tough. Especially losing (defensive tackle) Alfred (Collins) before the game, both of our linebackers being extremely limited throughout the week. I think that stuff does catch up.”
As for the Cardinals, they entered Sunday’s game with Mike linebacker Mack Wilson Sr., and cornerbacks Will Johnson and Max Melton out. They were joined during the game on defense when linemen Walter Nolen III and Darius Robinson, along with safety Dadrion Tayor-Demerson, all left the game with injuries. Departing the game on the offense were right tackle Jonah Williams, running back Bam Knight, and wide receivers Zay Jones and Simi Fehoko. That is difficult to overcome. Wednesday’s injury report is likely to be a long one.
So, back to the premise that this began with.
Last season, the Cardinals ended the season with 17 players on injured reserve, second-most in the NFL. Those players missed a total of 137 games while on IR and another six when they were an injury inactive.
Another 13 players missed 31 games with injuries including 18 among two players that had stints on IR, but were activated. That’s a total of 174 man-games missed. Those totals, of course, don’t include time missed during games when the injuries occurred.
How does that compare to the first nine games of this season? Glad you asked.
The Cardinals currently have 28 players who have missed a total of 131 games, and they have 14 players on injured reserve (once Zay Jones is added — he suffered a season-ending torn Achilles) and one on reserve/physically unable to perform. Seven of the players on IR are out for the season, so that adds another 56 games to what the total will be at the end of the season. Their 12 players placed on reserve since the cut to 53 is the most in the NFL.
Three players were placed on IR before the roster reduction to 53 as well as cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting, who is on reserve/non-football injury. From that group, the games missed includes Murphy-Bunting and cornerback Star Thomas V, but not linebacker J.J. Russell and tackle Valentin Senn.
Below is a breakdown of position groups for 2025 and 2024 with games missed. Player names in bold for 2025 are out for the season.
2025 players and games missed to injuries
- DL (5): Justin Jones 9, Walter Nolen III 7, L.J. Collier 7, Bilal Nichols 4, Darius Robinson 2. Total games missed: 28
- CB (5): Sean Murphy-Bunting 9, Star Thomas V 9, Garrett Williams 5, Will Johnson 3, Max Melton 2. Total games missed: 28
- OL (5): Hayden Conner 9, Christian Jones 9, Will Hernandez 4, Evan Brown 1, Paris Johnson Jr. 1. Total games missed: 24
- RB (3): James Conner 6, Trey Benson 5, Emari Demercado 1. Total games missed: 12
- LB (3): BJ Ojulari 9, Mack Wilson Sr., 1, Cody Simon 1. Total games missed: 11
- TE (2): Tip Reiman 5, Travis Vojolek 3. Total games missed: 8
- S/ST (2): Joey Blount 8, Kitan Crawford 2. Total games missed: 10
- QB (1): Kyler Murray 4. Total games missed: 4
- WR (1): Zay Jones 1. Total games missed: 1
- ST: P Blake Gillikin 4. Total games missed: 4
2024 players and games missed to injuries
- OL (8): Carter O’Donnell 17, Will Hernandez (12), Jonah Williams 11, Christian Jones 7, Paris Johnson Jr. 3, Isaiah Adams 1, Jackson Barton 1, Kelvin Beachum 1. Total games missed: 53
- DL (5): Justin Jones 14, Bilal Nichols 11, Darius Robinson 11, Roy Lopez 1, Khyiris Tonga 1. Total games missed: 38
- LB (5): BJ Ojulari 17, Dennis Gardeck 10, Jesse Luketa 3, Owen Pappoe 1, Mack Wilson Sr. 1. Total games missed: 32
- DB (5): Elijah Jones 17, Joey Blount 2, Sean Murphy-Bunting 2, Jalen Thompson 2, Garrett Williams 1. Total games missed: 24
- RB (3): Emari Demercado 4, Trey Benson 3, James Conner 1. Total games missed: 8
- ST (2): K Matt Prater 13, P Blake Gillikin 4. Total games missed: 17
- WR (1): Michael Wilson 1
- TE (1): Trey McBride 1
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