For the second time this year, K’Von Wallace has landed on the waiver wire. Despite Wallace following Jonathan Gannon and Nick Rallis from Philadelphia to Arizona, the Cardinals cut the fourth-year defender Tuesday, per a team announcement.
Wallace failed to make the Eagles’ 53-man roster in August, but the Cardinals offered him another opportunity via a waiver claim. Arizona also deployed Wallace as a full-time player from Weeks 2-6; the 2020 fourth-round pick played 100% of the Cardinals’ defensive snaps in that span. But Budda Baker‘s return affected Wallace’s standing in Arizona.
Baker missed the Cardinals’ Week 2 game and landed on IR soon after. The team activated Baker from IR ahead of Week 7, and while Wallace suited up, he did not play a defensive snap against the Seahawks. The Cardinals kept Wallace on the bench despite safety Jalen Thompson missing a second straight game. Tuesday’s transaction points to Cards confidence in Thompson, who has missed time with a hamstring injury, returning soon. Arizona also activated rookie cornerback Garrett Williams from the reserve/NFI list last week, creating some secondary depth that was not present during Wallace’s starter run.
The Cardinals signed Qwuantrezz Knight off the 49ers’ practice squad upon placing Baker on IR; Knight remains with the team, joining Joey Blount as Arizona’s backup safeties.
“It was kind of a numbers issue,” Gannon said, via AZCardinals.com’s Darren Urban. “He played some meaningful snaps for us but some guys are getting healthy for us now and everyone is rolling in that room and we are honestly a little heavy there.”
This marked Wallace’s first extended run as a starter, but the Eagles did use him as a three-game starter in 2020 and ’21. He topped out at a 22% defensive snap share during that period, however. Wallace’s 393 defensive snaps this year are by far a career high. His 43 tackles are also second on the Cardinals. Pro Football Focus, though, ranks Wallace outside the top 65 among safeties. The fourth-year defender will hit free agency if unclaimed by the 3 p.m. CT deadline Wednesday.
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