When Mike LaFleur mentioned Kalen King's hometown of Detroit, it brought a smile to the cornerback's face.
LaFleur, from Michigan himself, knows many Detroiters have a certain style to them. It comes with an attitude, meant as a compliment, and a level of grittiness that LaFleur admires.
For King, that's by design.
"That's definitely part of it," King said. "But really, it's my passion and my love for the game, which I don't take the game for granted. When I'm out there and doing the things that I love, I like to express that. So when I make a play or something, you're going to know, because I'm going to do something."
That enthusiasm is something defensive coordinator Nick Rallis saw early on as well.
The Cardinals signed King from the Panthers practice squad two days before Christmas last season. In his first practice, King made a play. It served as an introduction of sorts.
"He made a play on scout team, and we were in the bubble at the time, and the defense kind of erupted and everyone was like, 'Yeah, I'm not sure what that guy's name is, but that was a great play,'" Rallis said. "I would say he's probably one of the most improved guys going back to the spring till now."
The road to playing time has not been smooth. Once projected to be an early draft pick, King slid to the seventh round where he was drafted by the Packers in 2024. He bounced around on the Packers and Panthers practice squads and appeared in one game for Carolina, not logging a defensive snap.
This year, with injuries in the secondary, King was signed to the Cardinals active roster. In the last two games, King has played 62 snaps.
"I'm making sure I'm in the moment and not getting too high or too low because I've been cut in this league before and I know how it goes," King said. "Every week I'm dialed in. I know what I got to do and I'm staying ready."
King has become a bit of a chess piece opposite of Budda Baker. At times, both have been used in the slot and Rallis has dialed up some blitzes. King batted down a Matthew Stafford pass against the Rams on one of those rushes. A self-described "versatile and savvy" kind of player, King has been a factor on defense.
"His craft and his technique has gotten drastically improved and then you couple that with the ability and the play style," Rallis said. "That's why you're seeing him trending up and playing good ball for us."
How much he plays against the Cowboys on Sunday is to be determined with cornerback Max Melton and safety Dewey Wingard back on the practice field. But against a Cowboys offense with many weapons, the defense is going to need all the help they can get.
Maybe some of that "Detroit attitude" LaFleur noted will follow King to Dallas.
"I came here with the mindset that I'm going to do whatever I can with wherever they put me and make sure I know my job because I'm going to go as hard as I can," King said. "For this game, it's about us doing our job and playing together. When we do that, we'll get the outcome that we want no matter who we're playing."
