The Cardinals made room on their 53-man roster after lifting the roster exemption they were granted when linebacker Tanner Vallejo was activated from reserve/COVID-19 Monday by placing linebacker Joe Walker on waivers.
Walker was signed to the practice squad on Oct. 13 and was elevated to the roster for nine games before being signed to the active roster on Dec. 21. He had been playing more snaps on defense, but didn’t play any in Sunday’s loss to Seattle. However, he did tie for the second-most snaps on special teams Sunday with 24.
Most notable is that the Cardinals protected practice-squad cornerbacks Kevin Peterson and Bashaud Breeland Tuesday, which prevents another team from signing them this week.
After Sunday’s game, head coach Kliff Kingsbury noted the depth issues the team was experiencing at cornerback, especially after Peterson left the game with a concussion. The fact he was protected could be a positive sign, as it could be for Breeland, who was signed to the practice squad on Jan. 4.
When asked Monday about the possible return of Peterson and rookie cornerback Marco Wilson, who has missed the last two games because of a shoulder injury, plus the potential readiness of Breeland, Kingsbury said, “We're hopeful all three can contribute in some form throughout the week and feel good enough to play, but that remains to be seen. Breeland, we're trying to get him acclimated (and) up to speed on our terminology and scheme and the other two it's just a matter of health.”
The Cardinals also protected practice-squad running back Tavien Feaster, which could be security depending on the health of Chase Edmonds (ribs/toe) and James Conner (ribs).
The team has a few open practice-squad spots after releasing cornerback Nate Brooks Monday and then doing the same Tuesday with defensive lineman Matt Dickerson and linebacker Tahir Whitehead.
The Cardinals reported tryouts Tuesday with wide receivers Aaron Jackson, Trey Quinn and Khalil Tate. Jackson has no NFL experience after attending Benedictine College and playing football in Germany. Tate attended Arizona and was with the Eagles for part of the offseason in both 2020 and 2021 but has yet to participate in a training camp.
Quinn was selected by Washington in the seventh round of the 2018 draft and has played 16 games with eight starts for Washington and Jacksonville. He was in the Raiders’ training camp last summer, but was placed on reserve/injured and then waived Aug. 26 with an injury settlement.
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