TEMPE — Things are not looking good for the Arizona Cardinals in the health department.
The likes of Walter Nolen III, Jeremiyah Love and Budda Baker were the biggest names absent from the Cardinals' Thursday practice. Arizona plays host to the Denver Broncos in Week 7.
Nolen (ankle), Love (ankle) and Baker (groin/illness) all have not practiced for two consecutive days now in the build-up to Sunday. Also not spotted at practice today was Andrew Wingard (knee) and Max Melton (knee) — Wingard was a DNP yesterday while Melton was limited on Wednesday.
Earlier today, CBS Sports reported that Love is not expected to play, which would mark a second consecutive game missed for the third overall pick. His current ankle injury has been managed the last few weeks and is different from the one that saw him miss the end of preseason play.
It's looking as if the Cardinals will again rely on Bam Knight, Tyler Allgeier and Evan Hull against a stout Broncos defense.
Nolen's absence would be massive in the trenches, as the second-year defensive lineman was starting to come into his own, playing a big part in helping Arizona control the line of scrimmage and get after the quarterback.
In terms of ceiling and potential, Nolen's is by far the highest out of anybody along the Cardinals' defensive line. Missing him against a struggling Broncos offense would be huge.
Baker's absence would leave an obvious hole in the team's secondary in terms of both talent and game-planning. After a rough start, Baker's quickly turned the corner and has pieced together a strong overall 2026 campaign.
"There's just certain things where if you can try to get him to the point of attack on each play, like you got to do it, just because he makes those plays," Cardinals defensive coordinator Nick Rallis told reporters on Baker.
"He puts people in negatives. He creates negative plays, that's a thing week to week is like where can we get Budda around the ball without being obvious?"
The Cardinals, sitting at 2-4, are hoping to string together consecutive wins for the first time all season when Denver comes to State Farm Stadium.
The official practice report will drop later today, but from a health perspective, things do not look good for Arizona.
Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur will meet with reporters on Friday morning, where he'll likely verify who is in and out for the weekend.
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