We are a day closer to the start of the 2024 NFL season. The Arizona Cardinals, who take the field at Highmark Stadium on September 8 against the Buffalo Bills, are 59 days from their season opener.
The Cardinals’ current No. 59 is second-year offensive lineman Jon Gaines, a fourth-round pick last year who spent all last season on injured reserve with a knee injury.
He has not yet made an impact.
The Cardinals’ last reasonably impactful No. 59 was linebacker Joe Walker, a guy who just kept sticking around.
Walker played for the Cardinals in 2018-2019 and then returned in 2021.
He was originally a seventh-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2016. He spent his rookie year on IR and then played 12 games in 2017.
He started the year in 2018 on the Eagles’ practice squad before being cut and the Cardinals signed him in September of that year. He played 353 snaps on special teams and none on defense.
In 2019, he became a very trusted player for defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. He played in all 16 games and started 11 at linebacker, logging 65 total tackles and a forced fumble. He played 537 snaps on defense and 332 on special teams.
He signed with the San Francisco 49ers in 2020 but returned to the Cardinals in 2021. He played in 12 games and mostly played on special teams, logging 56 defensive snaps and 244 on special teams.
He was with the team again in the 2022 offseason but did not make the team and has not signed with anyone since.
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