Cardinals Make Roster Moves Ahead of Week 2

The Arizona Cardinals officially place a starter on IR.

Dec 31, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Arizona Cardinals helmet on the bench against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals have announced the following roster moves ahead of their Wednesday practice:

"The Arizona Cardinals Football Club today announced that the team has signed linebacker Julian Okwara (OAK-wara) to the active roster from the practice squad and has placed offensive lineman Jonah Williams on injured reserve. In addition, the team has signed offensive lineman Charlie Heck to the practice squad."

Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon previously said this morning Williams would go on injured reserve.

"Jonah's going to go on IR. Not going to speculate about the time when he's going to get back, what that looks like. [We're] still gathering more information about that," Gannon told reporters.

Williams will miss at least the next four weeks.

While the Cardinals will slide Kelvin Beachum into the starting spot at right tackle, Heck's presence on the practice squad bolsters depth at the position.

More on Heck from the team's media relations department:

"Heck (6-8, 315) played 41 games (21 starts) the past four seasons with the Texans after entering the league with Houston as a fourth-round selection (126th overall) in the 2020 NFL Draft from North Carolina. The 27-year old Heck appeared in all 17 games in 2022 and started 13 games at right tackle in 2021. He started four games last year with Houston. His father, Andy Heck, is the offensive line coach with the Kansas City Chiefs.

"Heck will wear jersey #67."

As for Okwara, he was added as pass rusher ahead of the team's regular season opener, where they lost 34-28 against the Buffalo Bills.

The Cardinals failed to create a consistent rush with Zaven Collins, Dennis Gardeck and Xavier Thomas rotating at outside linebacker.

Arizona plays host to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2. We will get our first injury report later today.

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