GLENDALE — The Arizona Cardinals’ kickoff to training camp 2025 wasn’t without its downer on Wednesday, when Jonathan Gannon announced that first-round pick Walter Nolen III is going to “miss some time with a calf injury.”

Instantly, the thought goes back to 2024 first-round pick Darius Robinson’s own troubles with a calf injury that limited him to just six games as a rookie.

But unlike last year’s outlook on the Cardinals’ defensive line after losing a projected starter ahead of the regular season, the sky is far from falling.

Cardinals DL far from dire straits with Walter Nolen III injury

Free-agent signings Calais Campbell and Dalvin Tomlinson are locks to be primary contributors in 2025. And that’s before even talking about the impact they’ll have in the locker room.

Re-signing L.J. Collier is coming off a career year and should help with rotational depth.

Then there’s Robinson, who looks poised for a Year 2 leap after bulking up this offseason.

Dante Stills, who might be the most underrated Cardinal on the roster, only adds to the rotation and was quietly top 10 in run-stop win rate for defensive tackles last season.

Veteran Justin Jones — one of Arizona’s bigger free agent additions before a torn triceps limited him to three starts — and undrafted free agent Elijah Simmons present additional depth pieces.

“He has to be an impactful player for us. That’s why we acquired him.”

Head coach Jonathan Gannon is eager to see what veteran DL Justin Jones can put on tape this training camp. pic.twitter.com/f07ETE1pH3

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) July 24, 2025

“He has to be an impactful player for us,” Gannon said of Jones. “That’s why we acquired him. He’s another one that battled to get back through his injury and things like that, went through spring. It’s good to see him out there. There’s no doubt. He’s a good player.”

From a room standpoint, there’s enough talent to get by even if Nolen’s injury runs into the regular season.

Opportunities are also going to be there for those looking to climb up the depth chart.

But from an individual lens, it’s a tough pill to swallow for the No. 16 overall pick.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Nolen could be sidelined all the way up until the start of the regular season.

That’s a ton of training camp and preseason reps he’s going to miss, stunting his rookie progression in the process.

There’s also the chance Arizona takes its time with Nolen, much like it did with Robinson. As Gannon said Wednesday, he’s not sure on a timeline for the lineman, adding that every injury is different.

Calf injuries are no joke, especially with the rash of torn Achilles to players trying to play through the issue.

With a roster loaded with defensive line talent, the Cardinals could very well get away with keeping Nolen on the shelf to play it safe.

Robinson managed to play in 16.84% of available defensive snaps (183) across six games played upon returning to action last season.

Is that now the worst-case scenario for Nolen in 2025? Only time will tell.