Aug 9, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals cornerback Max Melton (16) against the Kansas City Chiefs during a preseason NFL game at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Cardinals Starting Corner Carted Off

Originally posted on Arizona Cardinals on SI
By Donnie Druin | Last updated Sep 14, 2025 4:53 PM ET

GLENDALE -- The Arizona Cardinals have lost starting cornerback Max Melton due to a knee injury in Week 2's contest against the Carolina Panthers. He is questionable to return, per the team.

Melton was hurt tackling Panthers WR Tetairoa McMillan from behind in the first quarter. Melton spent a few minutes on the field before eventually being helped out by trainers to a cart, where he was taken away from action.

Will Johnson replaced Melton on the boundary in base defense while Denzel Burke was subbed in for nickel personnel.

Max Melton Big Loss for Cardinals

The Cardinals already suffered a few losses to the cornerback room this offseason, losing names such as Starling Thomas and Sean Murphy-Bunting before preseason games began.

Melton, a second-round pick out of Rutgers last season, showed some promise towards the end of his rookie campaign and was thought to be a breakout candidate entering his sophomore season in Arizona.

Melton had four tackles and one pass defensed in the Week 1 win over the New Orleans Saints.

“He played really well at the point of attack. He was really good. I thought his eyes were good most of the day," Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said of the performance.

"Technique was pretty good most of the day. He made a bunch of plays for us and showed some resilience. He had the one ball caught on him in the first drive in the third quarter, and then kind of shut his guy down rest of the day. I thought he played well.”

Melton was part of a Cardinals secondary that had nine total passes defensed last week and looked impressive in the early stages of the Carolina matchup.

“I think it was good. There’s times I’m not looking for PBUs by where the strength and the stress of the call is. I did feel though, yesterday when it was time to get tight, Nick was calling calls that were tight," Gannon said on Monday after reviewing the tape.

"When I say tight, (I mean) body on a body. Either a man-to-man concept or a pattern match zone concept, which that type of zone turns into man-to-man. I thought we did a good job of winning our leverage, being on the right people and denying the ball. That’s typically a good thing because if you can do that and you can get better at doing that, the rush should have a little more ticket time to win. That’s why rush and cover go together. I thought the whole back end; we played a lot of guys back there. ‘Rabbit’ (S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson) played a lot, Will obviously and (CB) Garrett (Williams) played some corner. I think all those guys that played did a good job.”

This article first appeared on Arizona Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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