Cardinals Dodge Massive Bullet With Walter Nolen Injury Update

GLENDALE — The Arizona Cardinals dodged a massive bullet with Walter Nolen III.

Nolen went down this week at practice with an apparent lower body injury and eventually went to the locker room, which stirred some hefty concern after his calf and meniscus injuries suffered during the 2025 season.

Mike LaFleur also checked on Nolen, who stayed on the sideline for a bit. Now he’s heading to the locker room. https://t.co/3p7vaXkvgR
— Donnie Druin (@DonnieDruin) July 31, 2026

That was Friday, and after a rest day on Saturday, the Cardinals are back to work with Nolen.

"Walt's good," head coach Mike LaFleur said ahead of Sunday's practice.

"Sometimes you name the player, when they've had a serious injury like they did, when when they kind of feel some type of way about it, there's a process both mentally and physically getting through that. So he's good, which is obviously a good thing for most importantly him, but the Cardinals as well.

"Just a little uncomfort. He was not comfortable in that knee that he had an issue with a year ago, so checked it all out. Everything looked good, and he'll be ready to roll today."

Nolen had meniscus surgery at the end of the season but has been active for all of training camp.

The Cardinals play their first preseason game this coming Thursday against the Carolina Panthers.

Cardinals Impressed With Walter Nolen III

Cardinals senior defensive coach Teryl Austin spoke with reporters last week and said he was very impressed with Nolen.

"My early impressions of Walter? He's damn good. Really like the way he moves. He's got all the physical attributes, all that different stuff. But I think what I like most about him is I think he has a really good feel for just the game itself," Austin said.

"In football there's a lot of guys that are talented, and sometimes it takes them a while to pick things up and do that stuff. You just watch the way he moves and the way he does things. I think his football sense is really, really, really high, and I think that's that always helps guys become better players."

Nolen, 2025's first-round pick, only played in six games last season due to injury. However, he was so eye-opening in his play, it became obvious he's a player the Cardinals can count on to make a difference heading into the future thanks to his ability to disrupt the quarterback.

"He's like all young players. I'm not saying he's a perfect player. What I'm saying is he has a lot of talent," Austin continued on Nolen.

"He has a very high ceiling, and so he's like a lot of players. You got to work on your stance, you got to work in your get off, you got to work on your hand placement. That is the never ending battle that all players face, you have to continue to really do well with the small things that continue to improve your craft, and I think that's what he has to do.

"And if he does that, all the other stuff I think will take care of itself."

Nolen is a massively critical piece of Arizona's defensive success, and the Cardinals will need him healthy if they'll accomplish anything in the trenches.

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