Kitan Crawford’s Week 1 exit was tough to watch, but Wednesday’s update officially turned bad news into a big headache for the Cardinals.
The Cardinals will be without their second-year safety Kitan Crawford for at least the next four weeks after they placed him on injured reserve.
Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, an already stretched-thin safety room in Arizona placed Crawford on injured reserve after he injured his ankle in the blocked punt play vs. the Chargers in Week 1.
Cardinals Put Safety Kitan Crawford on IR
Darren Urban of the Arizona Cardinals website explains, “In-season, everyone who goes on IR is technically eligible to return later; Crawford’s situation won’t be addressed until coach Mike LaFleur talks later Wednesday.”
Dadrion Taylor-Demerson was already missing from action for the Week 1 win, and with Crawford now locked on IR, the Cardinals were left dangerously thin with just three healthy safeties on the active roster.
Facing an urgent depth crisis ahead of their divisional showdown with the Seattle Seahawks, Arizona moved quickly to patch the leak. First, they promoted cornerback Kalen King from the practice squad to fill Crawford’s roster spot.
For additional depth, the Cardinals signed safety Jerrick Reed II and cornerback Art Green to the practice squad, per NFL insider Tom Pelissero. And to create the extra spot on their practice squad, the team released wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette on Tuesday.
With Taylor-Demerson already banged up, losing Crawford hits them where it hurts. Crawford carved out a real role on this roster as a special teams engine, ranking 6th among all NFL rookies with 316 snaps in the third phase last season.
Sidelining him doesn’t just strain the secondary depth—it punches a hole right through their special teams unit.
Adding Reed to the practice squad should soothe that burn a little, though.
Reed is a former Seahawks draft pick and an All-Rookie special teamer who knows the NFC West inside and out- exactly the type of player Arizona needs before squaring off vs. the Seahawks.
However, the Cardinals will hardly give Reed a spot against the Seahawks right away.
Seahawks Coming in With Their Own Problems Against Cardinals
It’s not just the Cardinals navigating Week 2 with a fuller-looking injury list. The Seahawks are coming in with a fuller and really concerning injury report of their own.
Their starting quarterback Sam Darnold is expected to miss this matchup due to a unique soft-tissue glute injury suffered on the very first series of their Week 1 win over the Patriots. That leaves Drew Lock and rookie Jalen Milroe steering the ship.
While it’s considered a short-term issue and avoided structural hip-joint damage, it entirely changes how Mike Mcdonald would have approached the game.
While Lock managed a gritty 13-10 rescue mission in relief last week, he’s stepping in with limited first-team practice reps.
Plus, second-year safety and ‘Dark Side’ defensive piece Nick Emmanwori has been managing an ankle issue (though trending toward participation after being limited), while safety Ty Okada has been sidelined with a hamstring strain, forcing personnel shuffling like leaning on veteran Rodney Thomas II.
Cardinals Put 7th-Rounder on IR in Week 2 Injury Report