Latest news with #JalenThompson
USA Today
02-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Arizona Cardinals S Jalen Thompson believes team will be 'defensive-led' in 2025
Arizona Cardinals S Jalen Thompson believes team will be 'defensive-led' in 2025 Jalen Thompson believes the additions to the D-line and secondary will make the Cardinals defense what lead the team. The Arizona Cardinals have been known as an offensively led team for several years, basically since quarterback Kyler Murray was drafted first overall in 2019. Since Murray came back from his ACL tear two seasons ago, the offense has been a top-10 unit in terms of efficiency. Will that continue? Safety Jalen Thompson doesn't think so. "This is gonna be a defensive-led team in my opinion," Thompson said on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM last week during the first week of OTAs. "I just think that it's one of those things where, like we were talking about a little bit earlier, we were in games, a lot of games last year with the defense, and we could have won those games if we had a little more, I feel like." The Cardinals lost by one score to the Buffalo Bills and had no answer for Josh Allen. They gave up a game-winning score in the final minutes against the Minnesota Vikings and allowed the Carolina Panthers to score 36 points. One stop in those three games and the Cardinals are an 11-win team and in the postseason. "This year should be a little bit different," Thompson said. "We got the D-line, some new guys in the D-line. We got some new guys in the in the DB room that are all ready to go. They're intentional, they come to practice, they're consistent. "I think that should be good for us." In free agency, the signed OLB Josh Sweat, DL Dalvin Tomlinson and DL Calais Campbell, They re-signed OLB Baron Browning and DL L.J. Collier. OLB BJ Ojulari, DL Justin Jones and DL Bilal Nichols are all coming back from injuries. They drafted DL Walter Nolen in the first round and CB Will Johnson in the second round. This defense should the best unit from the Cardinals we have seen since the first half of the 2021 season. Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
USA Today
05-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
2025 NFL combine full measurements, testing numbers for safeties
2025 NFL combine full measurements, testing numbers for safeties A look at all the safeties at the combine and their full measurements and testing numbers. The NFL combine concluded Monday and all the on-field drills and testing has been completed. NFL draft prospects have been weighed, measured, examined, interviewed and tested. Now NFL teams have returned home to continue with their evaluation process. Among the players participating in the combine were a bunch of safeties. It is unknown where the Cardinals would take a safety in this year's draft. They drafted Dadrion Taylor-Demerson in the fourth round last year and he appears set to slide into the starting lineup in 2026 unless Jalen Thompson is moved. How did the safeties perform at the combine? Below are all the safeties, their measurements and testing numbers, grouped alphabetically by school. 2025 NFL combine measurements, testing numbers for safeties Takeaways There was one clear combine winner at safety — Nick Emmanwori. At 6-foot-3 and 220 lbs, he ran the 40 in 4.38 seconds, had a vertical leap of 43 inches and a 11-foot-6 broad jump and posted 20 bench press reps at 225 pounds. Tulane's Caleb Ransaw isn't as big but had impressive athletic numbers. Malaki Starks, considered by most to be the top safety in the class, was adequate in his testing numbers. Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
2025 Arizona Cardinals offseason roster profile: S Jalen Thompson
The Arizona Cardinals are in offseason mode and we are days away from free agency and weeks from the NFL draft. Leading up to the start of free agency, we will take a look at each player on the roster or signed to a reserve deal and break down where they stand with the team. We will look at their 2024 season, their contract status and what their status is for the coming offseason and 2025 season. Next up is safety Jalen Thompson. Constantly playing in the shadow of Budda Baker, Thompson is a consistent and reliable player on the back end of the defense. Last season, he started 15 games and was inactive for two, but played 98 percent of the snaps (944) in the games he played. Thompson was third on the team in tackles with 98 (61 solo/three for loss) and two fumble recoveries, two quarterback hits and three passes defensed. Entering the final year of his contract (there is a void year in 2026), Thomspon's salary is $7.56 million with no guarantees. However, he is due a $2 million roster bonus on March 16 and his cap charge is scheduled to be $13.75 million. The presence of the roster bonus has led to speculation that Thompson could be cut prior to March 16 to save the cash and leave the team with $6.035 million of dead money against the cap. However, the Cardinals aren't in need of the cap savings and while rookie Dadrion Taylor-Demerson showed promise last season, it's a leap of faith to count on him being the same durable player throughout the season that Thompson has been in his career. Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts. This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: 2025 Arizona Cardinals offseason roster profile: S Jalen Thompson
