A few weeks ago, Naquan Jones' locker could be found tucked in the corner of the Dignity Health Training Center, right in between the defensive and offensive lines.
But when the defensive tackle returned to the facility, days after being plucked off the Dolphins practice squad, his locker belonged to another player.
"Now I'm just a lone wolf," Jones said of his new space, located by the linebackers on the other side of the room. "I still thought I was about to have the Jones name tag, now I got a little (temporary) tag."
It's been an interesting and emotional six weeks for Jones. Like many players throughout the league, cut-down day was not a pleasant one for Jones. The fourth-year lineman was told he did not make the Cardinals 53-man roster after the preseason finale. "It's a tough thing to hear," Jones said.
Such is the life for many NFL players. The Cardinals' defensive line has been a good example already. Not only has Jones returned, but the team had brought back Angelo Blackson, who spent the 2020 season with the Cards before finally returning this year to the practice squad (and then landing on PS-IR.)
The Cardinals then re-signed defensive lineman Ben Stille on Thursday, a guy who was cut at the same time as Jones but re-signed to Arizona's practice squad. Stille took the opportunity to sign with the Buccaneers last month and left Arizona, but he was released after a three-week stint and now comes back.
Jones' release this year came after he spent part of the 2023 season with the Cardinals, recording nine tackles and a tackle for loss in the four games he played.
"I have a lot of love for Naquan," coach Jonathan Gannon said. "That was a tough decision at the 53 there with how that all went. Felt really good about the guys that we kept, but he was one of the guys that it was hard to see him go."
After a discussion with his agent post-release, Jones saw an opportunity to fight for a roster spot with the Dolphins. But once Justin Jones was placed on the Cardinals injured reserve, GM Monti Ossenfort gave Naquan a call.
A situation like that could feel strange, especially when the organization delivered difficult news just weeks prior. But Jones is the first to say there's no bad blood, instead calling it a blessing.
"I still have my house here, my car here, everything's here, so it worked out," Jones said. "I felt like I was at home (when I walked in). I just took a little break to come back. Everybody was here throughout camp, and it just felt good to be back."
Because of his sudden arrival, Jones was inactive last weekend against the Commanders. He said he'll be active for Sunday's game against the 49ers, an opportunity he doesn't plan to let slip away.
When a player goes to a new system and is given a brand new playbook, it takes time to study. But when Jones returned last week, the pages were familiar.
"With me being up this week, it's not like I got to spend too much more time trying to relearn everything because I was only gone for a month," Jones said. "I'm good at retaining information and all that stuff. It was just easy to come back, look at my old playbook, and get back into it."
Regardless of which side of the locker room Jones sits on, he's energized to be back in the fold with his teammates.
"There's not a lot of 'me' guys," Jones said. "Everybody has one goal, and that's to get better, to win games, and that's why it wasn't hard to make the decision to come back."
