Cardinals Sign Cowboys TE; Lose CB to Injured Reserve

The Arizona Cardinals again are forced to place a defender on injured reserve.

Arizona Cardinals cornerback Kei'Trel Clark (13) celebrates his pass deflection against the Carolina Panthers at State Farm Stadium on Sept 14, 2025. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals placed cornerback Kei'Trel Clark on injured reserve this afternoon, the team announced.

With one week remaining in the 2025 season, the Cardinals continue to limp towards the finish line with a 3-13 record and a truly eye-opening amount of injuries, Clark being the latest.

Arizona will finish the regular season with a road trip to Los Angeles to face the Rams in Week 18.

In other roster moves made today, the Cardinals also released tight end Messiah Swinson while signing Dallas Cowboys tight end Rivaldo Fairweather from their practice squad.

Per NFL rules, Fairweather has to be on Arizona's active roster for this week since he was an active member of a practice squad.

More on Rivaldo Fairweather

Aug 22, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys tight end Rivaldo Fairweather (45) runs with the ball during the second half against the Atlanta Falcons at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

From the team's Media Relations Dept.: "Fairweather (6-3, 249) entered the league with Dallas as an undrafted rookie free agent from Auburn and has spent the entire season on the Cowboys practice squad. He played two seasons at Auburn (2023-24), appearing in 25 games (22 starts) and had 69 receptions for 766 yards and eight touchdowns. The 23-year old Fairweather began his collegiate career at Florida International and had 54 receptions for 838 yards and five touchdowns in 26 games (11 starts) over three seasons (2020-22). Fairweather will wear jersey #41."

The Cardinals have cycled through plenty of tight ends this season, as names such as Tip Reiman and Travis Vokolek have hit injured reserve while Trey McBride and Elijah Higgins continue to carry the top of the depth chart.

As a result, the Cardinals haven't been able to run as much 12 and 13 personnel as they'd like -- though also being down in numerous games sure doesn't help that cause either.

More on Kei'Trel Clark's Injury

Jan 5, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals cornerback Kei'Trel Clark (13) against the San Francisco 49ers at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Clark missed this past week with a back injury.

Clark was already filling in for a massively injured Cardinals cornerback room, and now his presence will see Arizona almost forced to play Max Melton this week as Will Johnson and Denzel Burke handle boundary corner duties.

Cornerbacks such as Garrett Williams, Sean Murphy-Bunting and Starling Thomas are currently on injured reserve.

Clark got plenty of run as a rookie back in 2023, though the Cardinals continued to pour more resources into his position which eventually led to less playing time.

However, his versatility and ability to play fourth down helped secure a roster spot in 2025, and as injuries built up, his presence was needed more and more as the season went on.