The Arizona Cardinals placed starting cornerback Will Johnson on injured reserve on Wednesday due to a neck injury.
Head coach Mike LaFleur had said on Monday that Johnson, 23, could miss the rest of the season.
Johnson apparently was hurt in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 31-7 home loss to Seattle when Seahawks running back Emanuel Wilson ran for 9 yards and his shoulder collided with Johnson.
In corresponding moves, the Cardinals promoted cornerback Starling Thomas V from the practice squad and signed defensive lineman Jay Toia to the practice squad.
Johnson started both games this season and has eight tackles and one pass defensed. As a rookie last season, he played in 12 games (10 starts) and had 37 tackles, 10 passes defensed and one forced fumble. He missed five games with groin and back/hip injuries.
Arizona selected Johnson in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft out of Michigan.
Thomas, 26, played in 29 games (22 starts) for the Cardinals over the 2023 and 2024 seasons and totaled 85 tackles, 11 passes defensed and one forced fumble.
Toia, 23, was a seventh-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in the 2025 draft out of UCLA. He played in five games last season and made three tackles. The Cowboys released him on Aug. 30.
