He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the sixth round in 2021 and was a starter each of the last two seasons. He appeared in 33 games, starting 29. In two seasons, he has 67 tackles, two sacks, 11 tackles for loss, five quarterback hits, a fumble recovery, a tipped pass and a safety.
He injured his hamstring this offseason and was recently released from the injured reserve in Houston with an injury settlement.
He immediately becomes the Cardinals’ most experienced defensive lineman in terms of starts and production, something needed after both L.J. Collier and Carlos Watkins landed on injured reserve with biceps injuries that needed surgery.
He might not be in the starting lineup on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers but he will get playing time.
In addition to the promotion of Lopez, the Cardinals also made some changes to the practice squad. They re-signed defensive lineman Jacob Slade, released last week when Lopez was signed on Saturday. They released cornerback Quavian White and added linebacker Davion Taylor.
Taylor’s addition gives them another body at linebacker with the recent injury to Krys Barnes, who hurt his hand on Sunday.
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