Lightning strikes twice for Cardinals this summer as another crushing injury further tests one of team’s youngest position rooms

This latest injury for Arizona brings the total of 2024 snaps lost in the secondary due to summer knee injuries to over 1,500. Thomas V played 817 snaps on defense for the Cardinals in 2024, showing promising growth as a starter in his second season after entering the league as an undrafted free agent out of UAB in 2023. Thomas was well positioned to be a contributor once again in 2025 despite the drafted of former Michigan cornerback Will Johnson in the top-50 of the 2025 NFL Draft, thanks in large part to the injury to Murphy-Bunting. 

The Cardinals still have a number of young names who can emerge as difference makers on the back-end, including Johnson. The team's 2024 second-round pick, Max Melton, is poised to be a beneficiary after logging meaningful snaps as a rookie. Fellow 2024 draft choice Elijah Jones, a third-round pick out of Boston College, is another name to watch. 

Injuries are, unfortunately, a part of the game. Everyone knows the deal when the season starts. But the Cardinals have to be hoping that the injury bug going around their secondary offers the team a bit of reprieve, especially given how early in the season it is to have already had two major, season-ending injuries in the same room.