Team news: Arizona Cardinals | Page 9

Cardinals’ general manager Monti Ossenfort said that he doesn’t expect to trade DeAndre Hopkins at any point during this week's draft.

Related Players: Marquise Brown, Rondale Moore, Zach Pascal

Kyler Murray got protection in the form of OT Paris Johnson on Night 1, but he still may be losing his biggest offensive piece before long. The entirety of the offense would immediately become suspect if that were to happen, with Murray missing time and a middling WR room behind Hopkins

Jets continue making moves, and here’s another: they reached an agreement today to bring back RB Ty Johnson on a one-year deal.

Related Players: Zonovan Knight, Michael Carter

Johnson has done most of his work as a third-down receiving threat since joining the Jets in 2020. He's a special teams contributor and shouldn't in any way impede on Breece Hall's snaps.

The Falcons are signing former Commanders QB Taylor Heinicke. With plenty of starting experience, Atlanta adds a veteran to their QB room.

Related Players: Desmond Ridder

For the Falcons and Taylor Heinicke, it’s a two-year deal worth up to $20 million. Atlanta has said Desmond Ridder is the starter, and that's top-end backup money.

Texans placed WR Nico Collins on injured reserve, ending his season.

Related Players: Chris Moore, Brandin Cooks, Phillip Dorsett

The writing has been on the wall after Collins missed another week of practice. He was having a decent 2022 considering his surroundings and hopefully, he can build on that in Year 3 with a new quarterback. As it stands now, Chris Moore is an intriguing fantasy option, albeit in the Flex position. It's still up in the air if Brandin Cooks will make an impact if he were to actually take the field.

Pete Carroll says he expects Kenneth Walker III to play Saturday as well as DeeJay Dallas. Said Neal’s knee just didn’t bounce back this time.

Related Players: Travis Homer

If all is well with the backfield health, Ken Walker will return to his role of workhorse while Dallas and Homer split the leftovers. Walker can be considered an RB2 for Week 16.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said before practice Tuesday that Ken Walker was “a little sore coming out” and would not practice, and then seemed to imply it’s not certain that Walker will play against the Chiefs.

“We will see how this week goes,” Carroll said. “We have to give him every day to get back.”

Related players: Wayne Gallman, Travis Homer, DeeJay Dallas

Shortly after, it was revealed that the Seahawks had re-signed veteran Gallman to the practice squad, which is at least a sign they aren't sure of Walker's status for Week 16. Walker is dealing with what the team was calling a "jammed" foot, which caused him to miss Week 14's game. Seattle travels to KC in an early Saturday game so owners will be able to adjust lineups depending on Walker's status.

Veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks remains sidelined with a calf injury and isn’t expected to play. It’s trending toward wide receiver Nico Collins missing another game with a foot injury. Both players aren’t practicing. The Texans are set to go with Chris Moore, who caught a career-high 10 passes against Dallas, Phillip Dorsett, and Amari Rodgers as their primary wide receivers against Kansas City.

The Texans are a mess from a real and fantasy standpoint, with Dameon Pierce expected to miss multiple weeks and the offense running a hybrid two-QB system. Chris Moore is intriguing as a Flex play in Week 15, but the ceiling is capped.

Cardinals placed WR Rondale Moore and QB Kyler Murray on IR; their seasons are over.

Related players: DeAndre Hopkins, Marquise Brown, A.J. Green, Robbie Anderson, Greg Dortch

Moore, who was dealing with a groin injury, played in seven full games and in all but two had six or more catches. Twice he went for more than 90 yards receiving but had just one touchdown in that span. He'll remain behind Hopkins and Brown heading into the 2023 season with a big question at QB and whether or not Murray will be ready.

Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota has left the team. It officially doesn’t matter if he’s coming back.

Coach Arthur Smith told reporters on Wednesday that Mariota will have surgery next week on his injured knee, and that he’ll be placed on injured reserve, with Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com.

Related players: Desmond Ridder

It’s unclear when the injury happened, the story said. Smith has described it as a “chronic” issue. However, Mariota has not appeared on any of the team’s injury reports, at all in 2022. We just reported the strangeness surrounding Mariota leaving the team and the birth of a child. Either way, at this point, Mariota is finished for the season and Ridder will take over for the final four games.

On Thursday, the Falcons told quarterback Marcus Mariota he’d be benched. The next day, he left the team.

On Tuesday, his partner had a baby. Which would explain his absence from the team. That same day, however, coach Arthur Smith painted a very different picture to TheAthletic.com, creating the clear impression that Mariota left for reasons unrelated to an impending visit from the stork.

Related players: Desmond Ridder

Regardless, the rookie Ridder takes over this week for the Falcons at QB, and according to the story, the Falcons aren’t quite sure whether Mariota will be back. At all. The story said the team technically can't place him on IR with an injury that doesn't appear to be legit. The story added releasing him could mean he ends up on another team, perhaps a division rival, as the Falcons are trying to make the playoffs.