The Arizona Cardinals got a welcome boost on Thursday’s injury report ahead of their Week 2 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks.
Josh Sweat, Budda Baker, Trey McBride and Isaac Seumalo were all back on the field for Arizona. Sweat, Baker and McBride had been listed on Wednesday because of rest days, while Seumalo had been dealing with a shoulder issue.
The one setback for the Cardinals came with Roy Lopez. He went from limited on Wednesday to absent on Thursday, which could put his availability for this weekend in doubt.
Arizona’s Thursday report also listed Isaiah Adams (knee), Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (ribs), Garrett Williams (Achilles), Cody Simon (shoulder), Max Melton (ankle), Jack Gibbens (shoulder), Isaac Seumalo (shoulder) and Andrew Billings (knee) as limited. Baker, McBride and Sweat were all full participants.
McBride had been seen during the open portion of practice on Wednesday, but the team still tagged him with a rest designation. On Thursday, he was back in the mix, and that matters for a Cardinals offense that could have some real pop on Sunday.
“I thought it was awesome. It's so much fun.
I just feel like his ability to move guys around, get people [to] different places. I just thought it was awesome,” McBride said when asked about his initial thoughts of playing in Mike LaFleur's offense.
“It was a lot of fun. I'm excited to keep building on it.
There's still a lot of things we can clean up and be better at, and that's what's exciting. It's like, we didn't even do as good as we could have, and we were still able to do what we did.
If we can just get a little bit better in these aspects, the sky's the limit.”
Baker and Sweat being back is a major plus for a Cardinals defense that held its opponent to 14 points last week. Seumalo’s return may be even more important, though, because Arizona’s offensive line struggled last week with him in the picture.
Seattle’s injury report brought its own updates. Anthony Bradford (knee), Nick Emmanwori (ankle/hip) and Josh Jones (knee) were limited, while Tory Horton (hamstring), Josh Jobe (wrist) and Cooper Kupp (back) were full participants.
The Seahawks will again be without Sam Darnold, leaving Drew Lock to handle quarterback duties. Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald praised him Thursday.
"He's got a great balance about him of being a true professional, but also, he's a loose and focused guy, he's a warrior in the garden," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said of Lock. "All the things we want from our players, he's that at the quarterback position."
Arizona is still trying to snap a long skid against Seattle. The Cardinals have not beaten the Seahawks since the 2021 season, which means they’ll be looking to end a run of nine straight losses.
Both teams have two practices in the books and will go through one more before final injury designations are set. Players will be listed as out, questionable or doubtful going into the weekend, with final active/inactive decisions due Sunday at 11:55 AM, 90 minutes before the 1:25 PM kickoff at State Farm Stadium.
The Cardinals and Seahawks can also make up to two standard practice squad elevations on Saturday.
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