Two Cardinals Out for Season After IR Moves

The Arizona Cardinals lost two members of their roster over the weekend.

Dec 1, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back Emari Demercado (31) runs with the ball against the Minnesota Vikings in the third quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images / Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

ARIZONA -- Two Arizona Cardinals have seen their season end, barring a postseason push.

Ahead of their Week 15 matchup against the New England Patriots, the Cardinals announced the following roster moves.

• Elevated punter Michael Palardy to the active roster from the practice squad as a standard elevation

• Placed running back Emari Demercado and punter Blake Gillikin on injured reserve

Demercado and Gillikin are out for the rest of the regular season, as players must miss a minimum of four weeks before returning. With only four games left on the schedule, the Cardinals will need a postseason push to see either player return to action.

Demercado served as Arizona's third down back and was highly coveted in the Cardinals' running back room. If Arizona did want to fill his roster spot, Michael Carter would be a candidate off the practice squad.

Gillikin was considered to be one of the league's best punters before his injury last week. While kicker Chad Ryland had to handle punting duties in the second half of action in Week 14, Palardy will be booming punts for the Cardinals to finish the season.

"When you go into these situations you want to make it as seamless as possible," Palardy told AZCardinals.com's Darren Urban.

"Every opportunity is a good opportunity," he said. "I try to take same approach with that as I do something like this."

The Cardinals listed Naquon Jones and Roy Lopez as questionable, though no defensive lineman being elevated from the practice squad could be a good sign for their chances to play.