A Friday night preseason game in Dallas turned rough fast for Cardinals safety Dadrion “Rabbit” Taylor-Demerson, who left early after a violent collision with Cowboys tight end Zack Kuntz.
The hit came in the secondary and immediately changed the tone. Taylor-Demerson was slow to rise after the contact, and officials threw a flag for unnecessary roughness. From there, the football took a back seat to the injury concern as trainers came onto the field and guided him to the medical tent.
Reports later said Taylor-Demerson exited with a rib injury.
It’s a frustrating break for the third-year safety out of Texas Tech, who entered the night in a close competition for the starting spot opposite Budda Baker. He had been trailing Andrew Wingard in that battle, so every snap mattered. Instead, his night ended before he could build on that momentum.
The Cardinals were already on their heels before Taylor-Demerson went down. Dallas dictated the pace from the opening quarter and had built a 24-6 halftime lead. With Dak Prescott resting, the Cowboys still moved the ball efficiently behind their backup quarterbacks and kept Arizona from settling in.
Arizona’s offense never found its footing either. Rookie quarterback Carson Beck was out with a rib injury, so veteran Gardner Minshew II got the start. The result was a choppy first half in which the Cardinals struggled to sustain drives or finish in the red zone against a Dallas defense that kept tightening the screws.
Now the focus shifts to Taylor-Demerson’s health and whatever comes next. Mike LaFleur will be waiting for more medical information, and the Cardinals are hoping the injury is minor. For a team that needs its hard-hitting safety ready for the regular season, the timing couldn’t be much worse.
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