Walter Nolen III is fine, the knee issue that caused him to leave practice last week just a "hiccup."

"Not necessarily concern, just 'maybe I need to slow down today,'" the deefnsive linemen said Sunday before practice. "I'm faithful in the work I have put in."

It was excellent news, of course. The Cardinals need much more out of their defensive line this season -- "I can't say I've been on a good football team that didn't have a very good defensive line, that wreaked havoc," coach Mike LaFleur said -- and it will start with Nolen.

The 2025 first-round pick was good last season. He just didn't play much, with a calf injury derailing the first part of the season and the left knee injury doing the same for the back end of the year.

"I don't feel like I did enough," Nolen said. "Being healthy is a big part of it."

Nolen feels more explosive during training camp. He always was that guy, but he has gotten professional about his eating habits, dropping about 10 pounds as he tries to reset.

That's what Friday's situation was more about. LaFleur emphasized the process both mentally and physically coming back from knee surgery (a meniscus tear) and that players will sometimes find themselves at a moment where discretion is apropos.

Nolen said as much, noting he got to a point where he felt he needed to slow down. He tested the knee on the field, but the decision was ultimately made to shut down for the day. Meanwhile, he was back Sunday.

"Right now we're not winning no games.," Nolen said. "As long as I am ready for the season I know what I'll do on the field."

-- Safety Joey Blount, coming off neck surgery, suffered a stinger on Friday. LaFleur said he will be day to day, but the Cardinals will do more testing given his history.

-- Still no timeline for the three guys left on PUP or any concrete updates for outside linebacker Josh Sweat, tight end Tip Reiman and cornerback Garrett Williams. But LaFleur said of Williams "I love the approach of that guy" and said Williams still has a chance to return from his Achilles injury by Week 1.

-- LaFleur said he will likely not announcing playing time decisions for the Hall of Fame game because he wants the players focused on each day (LaFleur's last media availability is Tuesday). As for rookie RB Jeremiyah Love's proclamation he will play because he needs to, LaFleur wasn't going that far.

"I appreciate Jeremiyah saying that," LaFleur said. "These guys love football. They want to play."

-- Speaking of Love, he was listed as the No. 2 running back on the initial depth chart of the season, causing a mini-uproar on social media. But Love ended up being the first running back taking snaps with the starters when 11-on-11 started on Sunday. Tyler Allgeier still got plenty of work with the first team, and, I'll say it again, for now, those two are going to split RB1. Regardless of what the depth chart says.

-- This week will be a first in the 27 seasons I have covered the Cardinals. There will be a practice, planned as padded, on Wednesday morning, right before the team climbs aboard their plane to fly to Canton for Thursday's game. The workout will be modified given the special circumstances, but a) I've never covered a team that practiced the day before a game and b) it's clear a bunch of guys won't play, and they will be the ones practicing the hardest.

-- The numbers have come out on Jacoby Brissett's new contract. The basics were already out there, but it is interesting the Cardinals added a void year according to overthecap.com, splitting up the cap hit that will leave $7,2 million of dead money on the 2027 cap.

-- As the Cardinals returned to work on Sunday, a handful of highlights, including interceptions by cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting and linebacker Cody Simon. Both came off Brissett passes.

-- Chase Bisontis got a couple of snaps at right guard with the ones, with Isaiah Adams moving to left guard on those plays.

-- Finally, LaFleur had his welcome to Arizona moment a couple of weeks ago. He went to tuck in his kids to bed and there was a "nice-sized scorpion right outside the little man's room," LaFleur said. "Needless to say there were people at the house the next day, spraying."