TEMPE — The San Francisco 49ers won’t be the only force going against the Arizona Cardinals this week.
Adversity has taken centerstage and will be a key component in Sunday’s matchup in Santa Clara as the Cardinals continue to work through injuries in the secondary.
And there’s none more impactful than the loss of Garrett Williams, who was placed on injured reserve this week to a knee injury.
The do-it-all cornerback has been critical to the Cardinals defense since stepping in midseason as a rookie in 2023.
His versatility to move across the secondary and play just about every spot in coordinator Nick Rallis’ system cannot be understated.
He was clearly adding more to his plate this year, too, seeing 100% of available defensive snaps in Week 1 before 84.7% last week which was impacted due the knee injury suffered late.
Without him for at least the next four games, it’s going to take some serious shuffling defensively.
That’s where the safety depth comes in. And it starts with safety Jalen Thompson.
“He can cover. He’s quick. He’s got vision,” head coach Jonathan Gannon said Friday. “He’s sticky which goes to his coverage abilities. He’s got good instincts in zone coverage. Everything that makes him a really good safety in the pass game translates to being a pretty good nickel in the pass game.
“When you look at 32 other teams, not everybody has a guy like that. It’s nice for us because he can wear multiple hats. He can 1) handle it mentally and 2) execute what needs to be executed. JT’s a really good football player.”
On top of forming a formidable 1-2 punch with safety Budda Baker in the backend of the formation, Thompson has seen plenty of snaps out of the slot.
With Williams still on the mend from a torn ACL suffered in college the year prior, Thompson got quite a bit of run through the first five games of the season behind 199 defensive snaps, per Pro Football Focus. He had eight games of at least 25 snaps out of the slot across his 15 starts.
It really wasn’t until Williams got the green light that Thompson’s snap count got more pronounced out of the box as opposed to the slot.
That trend continued in 2024, with Thompson seeing no more than 27 snaps out of the slot in any game last year while Williams took on even more as Arizona’s nickel.
Having to replace a guy like Williams is never easy, but given Thompson’s acumen to play multiple roles is one hell of a luxury for the Cardinals.
The same goes for having a solid replacement for Thompson in the backend.
With the veteran likely taking on a bigger role up front, all signs are pointing to Dadrion “Rabbit” Taylor-Demerson getting more looks at safety.
He’s already seen an uptick in snaps in Year 2, up to 73 snaps at free safety alone compared to 115 as a rookie. Even before injuries to Williams and others, the plan was to keep Rabbit on the field that much more in 2025.
That’s been very much the case.
And with Rabbit potentially taking on a different role this week, that leaves rookie Kitan Crawford and Darren Hall with the opportunity to earn more reps, especially in Arizona’s three-safety looks.
Crawford’s been talked about as a strong special teamer but has also flashed his abilities as a defender in the preseason. He’s yet to see a defensive snap through two regular season games.
Hall, on the other hand, got some preseason run at safety and could play a part in the rotation after being signed to the active roster this week.
“You never want to lose good football players but that’s the life in the NFL,” Gannon said. “Everybody collectively has to play good football.”
Garrett Williams far from the only injury plaguing Cardinals CBs room
While Williams marks the biggest loss to the Cardinals defense this week and beyond, he’s far from the only starting cornerback dealing with an injury.
Along with Williams, outside options Max Melton (knee) and Will Johnson (groin) were knocked out of last week’s game.
And even though the injury to Melton looked far worse than his rookie counterpart, it was the veteran who made it back on the practice field this week, albeit in a limited fashion. He’s officially questionable for Sunday.
Johnson, meanwhile, did not log a practice rep ahead of Week 3’s tilt against the 49ers and is doubtful.
“He’s progressed and he’s showing improvement. We’ll see how that goes,” Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort told Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke on Friday. “I think with every injury, you never quite know. It’s really day-to-day and seeing how those things respond.
“We’ll have more as we go here. We got one more day of practice here today and then the walk through tomorrow and then we’ll get on the plane and know more at that point.”
Even though Johnson wasn’t officially ruled out for Sunday, not logging a single day of practice is typically a harbinger for an inactive status on game day.
There’s also a short week ahead with Thursday Night Football taking over in Week 4.
With two games in a five-day span, it’s wise to give Johnson as many days of recovery as possible before giving him the green light.
You don’t want to rush him back in the short term to potentially impact his long-term health. And much like calf injuries, groin issues are not something to risk with an abbreviated recovery time.
With Johnson likely on the shelf for the matchup, it’s on Kei’Trel Clark, Denzel Burke, Elijah Jones and Hall to potentially pick up the slack.
Clark and Burke were thrown into the fire last week due to the injuries in the secondary and are likely the first names seeing reps this weekend.
All signs point to Jones at the very least being active on Sunday after being a healthy scratch the first two weeks of the year.
If any of the Cardinals’ injured CBs have to miss time, DC Nick Rallis is excited for the opportunity it could present for those lower on the depth chart, especially Elijah Jones. pic.twitter.com/0LeZFK1H3e
— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) September 16, 2025
“I actually had a conversation with him the other day before we had a lot of injuries in that room. I just applauded the way he’s been working and I think he’s been practicing really well,” Rallis said Tuesday.
“He’s improving his game and taking care of not just his scheme and technical buckets but his physical, his psychological, his health, everything goes into being a player and maximizing himself as a player. Right now, he’s pouring into it right now and I told him it’s a matter of time before his number’s called on.”
