Kitan Crawford: Everything you need to know

The Cardinals placed Crawford (ankle) on injured reserve Thursday, Darren Urban of the team's official site reports. Crawford was already ruled out for Sunday's regular-season finale against the Rams due to an ankle injury, and his placement on IR was a procedural move to open up a spot on the Cardinals' 53-man roster for Austin Keys, who was waived by the Vikings on Wednesday. Crawford -- who the Cardinals selected in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft -- finished his first NFL regular season with 20 tackles (11 solo) and one pass defense across 15 games (one start) while contributing on both special teams and in the secondary.

Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said Wednesday that Crawford (ankle) has been ruled out ahead of Sunday's matchup against the Rams, Nate Atkins of The Athletic reports. Crawford sustained an ankle injury in the Week 17 loss to the Bengals and is now in line to miss Arizona's season finale. The rookie safety from Nevada appeared in 15 games for the Cardinals, recording 20 total tackles and one pass defensed while contributing both defensively (142 snaps) and on special teams (319 snaps).

Crawford (ankle) is questionable to return to Sunday's game against the Bengals, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports. Crawford appeared to sustain the injury in the second quarter and is being evaluated by medical staff to determine whether he can return to Sunday's game. With Budda Baker (concussion) inactive, Dadrion Taylor-Demerson will step into a larger role in the secondary for as long as Crawford is out of the game.