The Arizona Cardinals made the move that’s been long anticipated since Monday. They announced that they’ve placed cornerback Will Johnson (neck) on injured reserve and signed Starling Thomas from the practice squad. Defensive lineman Jay Toia will take Thomas’ place on the practice squad.
The move means Arizona will still carry six cornerbacks entering their Week 3 contest. Thomas takes Johnson’s place on the roster and could possibly see the bulk of his snaps as well.
“What’s great is we have a deep corner room,” said LaFleur in his September 21 press briefing with the media. “Star’s played a lot of football here, Star’s played good football, and Star’s in a good spot headspace-wise and physically.”
The decision to sign Starling Thomas off the practice squad does two things. The first is that it fills the open roster spot in the most straightforward way possible. The second is that it prevents other teams from poaching him for cornerback depth.
The decision to place Johnson on IR was inevitable. LaFleur revealed that the second-year corner’s neck injury is season-ending, and the Cardinals cornerback published a post on Instagram that indicated as such.
Cardinals Place Will Johnson on IR, Sign Starling Thomas from Practice Squad
It wasn’t too shocking that Thomas got the call to be added to the 53-man roster. Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur spoke at length about the fourth-year corner after announcing Johnson’s neck injury a day after their 31-7 blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
With Johnson on injured reserve, there’s a good chance that his second season in the NFL is over after two games.
“You’re sick for Will, for obvious reasons, the person over the player. And then obviously his teammates are sick for him too.”
There are two additional injury situations worth monitoring. Max Melton is dealing with a toe injury, and Garrett Williams is working his way back from a December 2025 Achilles rupture. The first injury report of the week should indicate their potential status for Week 3.
If Williams and Melton are healthy and playing, that would be great news for the Cardinals. They’ll have to find a way to contain a very versatile receiver group on the San Francisco 49ers. It starts with future Hall of Famer Mike Evans, along with Deebo Samuel and Demarcus Robinson.
Cardinals Sign 4th-Year Cornerback Amid Will Johnson Injury News