Zaven Collins: Everything you need to know

Collins logged 40 tackles (26 solo), including 1.5 sacks, and two fumble recoveries (one returned for a touchdown) across 17 games for the Cardinals in 2025. Collins was coming off a productive 2024 campaign in which he logged a career-high 5.0 sacks across 17 games. He was an every-week starter for Arizona from 2022 to 2024 but served in a rotational role in the Cardinals' first seven games of 2025 before starting in nine of the last 10 games, and his tackling and sack numbers were his lowest since his rookie campaign in 2021. Collins enters next season on the final year of a two-year contract extension that he signed with Arizona in August of 2024.

Collins (hand) does not carry an injury designation ahead of Sunday's game versus the Panthers, Zach Gershman of the Cardinals' official site reports. Collins sustained a hand injury during Arizona's season opener at New Orleans, but it evidently was minor and won't be a problem for Week 2. He projects to continue to play a rotational role at linebacker versus Carolina.

Collins is questionable to return to Sunday's game against the Saints due to a hand injury. Collins suffered the injury in the third quarter of Sunday's game, and he'll undergo further tests to determine the severity of the issue and whether he can return. Collins' absence opens the door for Baron Browning and Owen Pappoe to see more snaps with the first-team defense at linebacker.