GLENDALE, Ariz. — Second-year Arizona Cardinals linebacker BJ Ojulari suffered a torn ACL and is out for the season, a source confirmed to ESPN.
Ojulari suffered the injury in Friday’s training camp practice and had to be helped off the field with the assistance of two staff members. Ojulari, who was a second-round pick in 2023, had recently started getting reps with the first-team defense and was trending toward winning one of the Cardinals’ starting outside linebacker spots.
NFL Network first reported Ojulari’s injury.
On Friday, before the practice in which Ojulari suffered his injury, defensive coordinator Nick Rallis praised Ojulari’s performance during camp.
“He has a complete skill set to play within what we do,” Rallis said. “Believe it or not, very good space player and coverage player. Didn’t have to necessarily do it a lot in college and when he got here, you could see it right away that just his athleticism takes over, but it’s natural to him, as well.
“So, I love that part of his game and then he’s been setting some really good edges. I’m always on him challenging to play lower than the opponent, and when he does that, I really like what I see in the run and the pass games. So, he’s doing a good job of being that complete player.”
Injuries have plagued Ojulari since he was drafted. Before he dealt with a hamstring injury last spring, Ojulari had a procedure on his knee between the combine and the draft, coach Jonathan Gannon said last July. He started last training camp on PUP but was off by the first week of August.