Cardinals receiver Jalen Brooks says wrist surgery will end his season

Arizona Cardinals receiver Jalen Brooks said Monday, October 26, that he needs emergency wrist surgery and is done for the season after the team’s Sunday loss to the Denver Broncos in Glendale. His absence takes away a player whose role had grown since the trade of Marvin Harrison Jr.

Brooks wrote on Instagram that he needed surgery on his wrist and asked for prayers, according to Arizona Sports and SB Nation. The season-ending timeline comes from Brooks’s statement; neither report identified a specific wrist diagnosis.

Brooks’s larger role in Arizona’s offense

The receiver had played in all seven of Arizona’s games without a start, catching five passes for 81 yards on 17 targets, according to SB Nation. Arizona Sports said those 17 targets tied him for fourth on the team. His workload had increased after Harrison’s trade moved him up the depth chart.

Brooks also made a 21-yard catch against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 6 that helped set up Chad Ryland’s winning field goal, Arizona Sports reported. That play and his increased snap share against Denver show why losing him matters despite his modest season totals.

Cardinals receivers after Brooks’s injury

Arizona Sports counted five active wide receivers and two on the practice squad after Brooks’s injury. Of the listed receivers, Michael Wilson, Kendrick Bourne and Reggie Virgil were the only ones with a catch this season. Devin Duvernay and Simi Fehoko were also on the active roster, with Shedrick Jackson and Harrison Wallace III on the practice squad.

SB Nation reported that Fehoko, who had mainly played special teams snaps, would fill Brooks’s role on offense. How Arizona distributes the work among its remaining receivers will become clearer when the team next takes the field.