Cardinals Get Massive Boost Ahead of Monday Night Football

The Arizona Cardinals will see their top weapon available.

Sep 29, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) against the Washington Commanders at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

TEMPE -- The Arizona Cardinals will have rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. available for their Week 7 Monday Night Football clash against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The news was first reported by NFL Media's Ian Rapoport this morning:

"#AZCardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr has cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol and will play Monday night, sources say. He’s off the injury report."

#AZCardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr has cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol and will play Monday night, sources say. He’s off the injury report. pic.twitter.com/JjA1UEAy1x

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 19, 2024

Minutes later during his press conference, Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon confirmed the news.

"Marvin will go. Owen Pappoe will not be able to go. We will not activate Darius [Robinson], other than that will see the next couple days. We're ready to go," said Gannon.

Harrison suffered a blow to the head early in Week 6's loss to the Green Bay Packers and did not return. He was spotted wearing a yellow non-contact jersey at practice on Thursday before returning to regular gear on Friday.

"He's good. He does everything he needs to do," Gannon continued on Harrison.

"The protocol is obviously different, but he takes care of himself and maximizes his buckets. He's really a true pro. So he had a good week. We'll see him out there today, but he's ready to go."

The Cardinals sit with a 2-4 record on the season and will need all the help they can get against a Chargers defense that's limited offenses to under 14 points per game, which is tops in the league.

Harrison hasn't missed a game thus far but has been fairly inconsistent with his target distrubition in Arizona's offense. The No. 4 overall pick has netted 17 receptions for 279 yards and four touchdowns through the first six weeks of play.

Harrison had to clear five different stages of the league's concussion protocol in order to play on Monday, and Gannon said his status throughout the week didn't alter Arizona's potential game plan for the Chargers.

"We're very aware of who's out there, you know what I mean? And then you kind of try to develop the game plan with that in mind too. You can't redo a game plan for one guy, but you can do different things to make sure you're putting them in good spots to have success," said Gannon.

"I'm a huge believer in that. I talk to the coaches and the players all the time about being adaptable. It's our job to solve problems and figure it out and who's out there and make sure that we're putting the right people out there and asking them to do the right things for the betterment of the team - so we're aware."