No Walter Nolen III for the Cardinals on Sunday, and so Darius Robinson knows he'll probably play more against the Broncos.
"When my number is called, just put my best performance on tape," the defensive lineman said. "That's how I feel about it."
Robinson's snap total hasn't been big most weeks, ending up with the lowest or tied for lowest of the Cardinals defensive linemen in all but one game, averaging 22.2 snaps per game in 2026. But defensive coordinator Nick Rallis said Robinson has improved a lot – "I think the game has slowed down for him," he said – and Robinson said it's important to work while understanding everything isn't in his control.
"I'm at a point where it's 'See ball, get ball,'" Robinson said. "I'm at a point where I really have nothing to lose. I really don't. I understand the business of the league, and being my third year, it's a big deal for the future. But I'm having fun, and we will see what happens."
Robinson was the Cardinals' second first-round pick in 2024. He watched the first first-round pick, Marvin Harrison Jr., surprisingly traded a couple weeks ago. That hit him hard.
"From my standpoint, you're thinking, 'First round, we're going to work with you and work everything out,'" Robinson said. "See that happen, then it's 'OK, maybe not.' That's why right now, it's control what I can control."
Nolen's ankle status is to be determined. Coach Mike LaFleur doesn't think it'll mean IR. In the meantime, Robinson is back in the spotlight.
"Early in my career, it was like, 'OK, you're the first-round pick, these are the expectations,'" Robinson said. "I feel like I let that get into too much of my mind, instead of focusing on the player I was and why I got drafted in the first round.
"Right now, I'm hitting that 'why I was drafted in the first round.' Getting back to it as much as possible and have as much fun as I can."
-- In his career, Larry Fitzgerald scored 121 touchdowns.
On Sunday, as the Hall of Fame wide receiver is inducted into the team's Ring of Honor, receives his Hall of Fame ring, and has his No. 11 retired, it would be fitting if the current Cardinals could honor the legend by scoring a couple touchdowns themselves.
There was a win last week. But no visits to the end zone.
"We can't kick six field goals and expect to win football games, but I think those are — I don't want to call them easy fixes because there are no easy fixes, but we'll clean that up," LaFleur said.
LaFleur emphasized on Friday – the day NFL teams practice their red-zone work for the upcoming game – that he didn't want to dwell on something just because it went poorly the previous game. The 0-for-5 didn't prevent all the Chad Ryland field goals needed, but it did drop the Cardinals to 48 percent in the red zone this season.
The Broncos aren't necessarily an easy team to score against either, one of the reasons Denver is 4-2 despite a poor offense.
"It's literally finishing," quarterback Jacoby Brissett said. "It's a play here, play there but (there is) nothing magical that I can tell you. It's just finding ways to finish whatever the task is of the play."
Tight end Trey McBride said he's "loved the red-zone plan that we've had." But like Brissett, he noted the Cardinals must finish.
-- Running the ball more consistently would help in tight quarters. That will only be made more difficult after starting right guard Jon Gaines II hurt his knee/ankle in practice Thursday and now will miss the game.
-- Fitzgerald had one touchdown in four career games against the Broncos, a Thursday night home loss in 2018. As long as he's in the house, it feels like the Cardinals owe Denver at least a couple more than that.
The game is important, of course. But so is the ceremony for Fitzgerald, a moment five years in the making and the time when fans can finally deliver a proper goodbye to the franchise icon.
Fitzgerald knows this, but he will be paying attention to the field too.
"To be able to go in that stadium and feel that energy again … I'm just hoping when I go out there, we're up at half taking care of business and that the fans will be in a lot better mood," Fitzgerald said.
-- For those who cannot make it or are in another state, the Fitzgerald halftime ceremony will be livestreamed on azcardinals.com and on the app.
-- Another cool trip down memory lane: "Echoes of Greatness" are mini-podcasts from each of Fitzgerald's 17 seasons (and his electrifying 2008 postseason) of radio calls from all of Fitz's big moments.
-- Aside from Gaines – which is a third guard out now, with Chase Bisontis and Isaiah Adams on IR – the Cardinals are also going to be without their past two first-round picks. Jeremiyah Love (ankle) we knew could be missing another game, and Nolen.
Right tackle Elijah Wilkinson insisted he isn't feeling some kind of way now that Bisontis, Adams and now Gaines have been prevented from playing guard next to him. Hayden Conner will be the starter now.
"I'm not feeling bad, that's the NFL," Wilkinson said. "That type of stuff happens. It could happen any play. You just have to keep rolling with the punches. Everyone is learning in the room, and you keep rolling with the punches and be ready.
"It's next-man mentality, for that person and myself."
-- Can the defense have a repeat performance of what they did to Matthew Stafford and the Rams? Well, there seems to be an opportunity against the Broncos. Yes, Denver is 4-2, but they have the second-worst offense (252.2 yards a game), which is 325th out of the 327 teams that have started 4-2 since 2000. They only average 19 points a game.
-- Speaking for the first time since the Marvin Harrison Jr. trade, GM Monti Ossenfort told the "Wolf and Luke" show that "those decisions are always hard."
"For us, it was an opportunity that presented itself," Ossenfort said. "With the way things have played out … it was an opportunity that made sense."
Ossenfort acknowledged the timing of the deal was "a little weird" but it came together quickly that Friday night because of the "aggressiveness of Houston."
Ossenfort added Harrison had been frustrated. And in terms of Ossenfort being concerned about his own reputation after dealing a No. 4 overall pick, "in my role, I am always going to do what is best for the team. We believed it was best for the team."
-- Lost in the jubilation of last week's walk-off win was the ability of the Cardinals to execute Ryland's 43-yard field goal while the clock was running from third down. Brissett sneaked the ball to the left hashmark and as the seconds bled away, the field-goal team raced on to the field, got set, and Ryland made his boot.
Also important, however, was getting the regular game ball swapped out for the "K" ball, which was also executed flawlessly. "Credit to the equipment staff and Schwim, understanding time was of the essence," special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial said.
"Schwim" is manager of equipment Jeff Schwimmer, who leads his staff with all things equipment. In this case, equipment assistant Jason Kenneally made sure Ryland had the right ball to kick.
-- McBride, leading the NFL in catches, will try to make headway against his childhood team (McBride is from Colorado). Sunday happens to be National Tight Ends Day, not a bad thing for a team that is using three tight ends more often.
"Hopefully a lot of 13 personnel (on Sunday)," McBride said. "It's a special holiday, I guess."
-- The Cardinals had four 10-play scoring drives last week against the Rams, and two lasted for more than eight minutes. They already have 17 10-play drives this season, tops in the NFL and an aid to the defense. They have scored on 15 of those drives.
Do they want to turn more of them into TDs? Of course (eight so far.) We'll see if the Fitz aura can help.
See you Sunday.
