The Arizona Cardinals first day of training camp last week brought a dose of unwelcome news.
Their first-round pick, defensive tackle Walter Nolen, was dealing with a calf injury, head coach Jonathan Gannon said. He would not even commit to Nolen being ready for the Cardinals’ season opener on Sept. 7 against the New Orleans Saints.
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As far as relatively minor early-season injuries go, this was a gut punch. For rookies in particular, training camp is a crucial developmental period. Missing that time can have lingering effects for weeks and months to come.
Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Walter Nolen III watches during training camp at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on July 28, 2025.
The early indications, though, are that Nolen has not hit any speed bumps in his rehab.
“I feel pretty good,” Nolen told The Arizona Republic on July 30. He later added that, “Everything’s been progressing well.”
Nolen confirmed that the injury occurred one week before the start of training camp, while working out with teammates at the Cardinals facility in Tempe.
Nolen was speaking on the Cardinals off day at a back-to-school giveaway at Maryvale High School in west Phoenix. The event was organized by second-round pick Will Johnson and his family. Both rookies made the rounds, taking photos with kids and helping distribute school supplies.
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It was the latest example of Nolen remaining engaged during his rehab process. During training camp, he has been a regular fixture on the sidelines, chatting with teammates and greeting fans.
For Nolen, this is a new experience. As a freshman at Texas A&M, he sat out two early games as he adjusted to the college level. And as a sophomore, he transferred prior to the Aggies’ bowl game. But he did not miss a single game due to injury in his three years of college football. The last injury he dealt with, he said, was a broken toe in high school.
Now, he’s trying to see the positives in dealing with an injury at the NFL level.
“I feel like it’s kind of a blessing in disguise,” Nolen said. “Maybe this is something that God said I needed so I’m just gonna take the ride.”
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Nolen added that he has been able to work on adjusting to the mental side of the NFL game while sidelined.
“Just how I approach the game, not cheating every day,” Nolen said. “I feel rehab brings a lot of that out of you but every day is a new process.”
He’s also been able to spend this time picking the brains of the Cardinals veterans in his position room, namely Calais Campbell and Dalvin Tomlinson.
“Just learning new ways to take care of my body,” Nolen said. “Different things I should be doing and different things I should avoid putting in my body and just how to be successful.”
Nolen, though, did not commit to a timeline for his return. NFL Media previously reported that Nolen’s timeline “puts him right up against the start of the season” and that he would likely miss “most or all” of training camp.
“I’m just taking every day as a new day.” Nolen said.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cardinals’ defensive lineman Walter Nolen gives update on calf injury