Arizona Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr Ruled Out In Week 14
If you’ve ever tried to walk off a heel bruise, you know it feels like stepping on a Lego every single time your foot hits the floor. Now, imagine trying to do that while running routes against professional defensive backs who want to take your head off.
It’s enough to make you want to wrap the guy in bubble wrap until 2026.
That is the current reality for Marvin Harrison Jr., the rookie sensation who just can’t seem to catch a break. After missing two games because—of all things—his appendix decided to quit on him, Harrison finally returned to the field for the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13. And how did the football gods reward his resilience? With a heel injury that left him hobbling in and out of the lineup during a frustrating loss to the Buccaneers.
Cryptic updates from the Arizona Cardinals coaching staff
If you were hoping for clarity regarding Harrison’s status for Week 14, don’t look at head coach Jonathan Gannon. In a press conference performance that can only be described as “peak NFL coach-speak,” Gannon offered a single word when asked how his star receiver was doing on Wednesday:
“Okay.”
Thanks, coach. That really clears things up.
But if you dig a little deeper into Gannon’s radio appearance earlier in the week, the picture gets a lot murkier—and honestly, a little confusing. Gannon compared Harrison’s issue to the injury currently plaguing cornerback Max Melton.
“You watch him run and he’s running great, but then when he walks or he jogs, it doesn’t look great,” Gannon said. “It’s a tough injury because it’s on his foot. Anytime he puts pressure on his foot, it’s tough.”
Read that again. He runs great, but walking is a disaster? It sounds like a riddle you’d find on a bubblegum wrapper, but it’s actually just the miserable reality of foot injuries. The Arizona Cardinals are taking it day-by-day, but Harrison was nowhere to be found at practice on Wednesday. If Melton’s timeline is anything to go by (he missed last week), don’t hold your breath on seeing No. 18 suit up against the Rams.
The harsh reality of the Arizona Cardinals season
rHere is the uncomfortable truth that nobody in the building seems to want to say out loud: There is absolutely zero reason for Marvin Harrison Jr. to play through pain right now.
The Arizona Cardinals are sitting at 3-9. They have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. The season, for all intents and purposes, is a wrap. We are in “evaluate for next year” territory.
There was a genuinely heartbreaking moment after the Tampa Bay loss where Harrison was interviewed at his locker. When a reporter mentioned the elimination, Harrison looked genuinely surprised.
“We’re out of the playoffs?” he asked.
It’s endearing, really. You want your players to be so locked in that they ignore the standings. He talked about taking it “one day at a time” and just trying to get wins, which is exactly what he’s supposed to say. But management needs to be the adult in the room here. Pushing a franchise cornerstone to play on a bad heel in meaningless December games is how you turn a two-week injury into a chronic offseason surgery.
Why Michael Wilson might be the answer
If the Arizona Cardinals do the sensible thing and sit Harrison, the offense isn’t exactly going to implode. In fact, we’ve seen that Kyler Murray has other options.
During Harrison’s appendicitis absence, Michael Wilson stepped up and looked every bit like a legitimate weapon. The guy posted 303 yards on 25 catches in that span. He was dynamite. If Harrison can’t go—and honestly, even if he’s just “kind of” hurt—let Wilson cook.
Harrison admitted that he felt efficient in the first half against the Bucs, noting he was “6-of-7 on target rates,” but lamented a lack of explosive plays. That’s the thing about heel injuries—they rob you of that explosion. You can’t plant, you can’t cut, and you certainly can’t burn a corner deep when you’re worried about your foot landing wrong.
What comes next for the Arizona Cardinals?
We will know more when the final injury reports drop later in the week, but the writing is on the wall. The Arizona Cardinals are playing out the string. They have a rookie star who has already undergone surgery this month and is now walking with a limp.
The smart money says Harrison sits. The Arizona Cardinals have a long-term investment to protect, and risking it for a Week 14 morale victory against the Rams seems foolish. But then again, this is the NFL, where “playing through the pain” is treated like a badge of honor rather than a medical risk.
Let’s hope the team saves Marvin Harrison Jr. from his own competitive nature.
