Thompson Set to Call Plays on Defense
The one thing that Arizona Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson has done each year is grow.
In Year 4, Thompson is ready to make the next big leap in his career, as the Cardinals' main defensive play caller. Throughout camp, Thompson will call out plays he receives from his coaches and make adjustments if possible.
“They’ve [coaches] given me a lot of different things to handle. I have the mic in my helmet now so I’m calling out some of the plays,” Thompson said. “And it's a big time for me because I feel like I can handle it.”
It isn’t usual for a safety to be wearing the green dot. Most defenses will have a linebacker take on the play-calling responsibilities.
“Definitely a linebacker role and they’ve trusted me to do that so it’s big-time,” Thompson said.
Last season, Jordan Hicks carried the role as the defensive quarterback and it was possible that the job would be handed down to second-year linebacker Zaven Collins. Although it is usually a linebacker's “job,” Thompson thinks his role as a safety can be beneficial.
“I feel like if I’m calling it, I can get it out to the DBs a little bit quicker and that's one of the biggest things is getting aligned quickly and getting ready to play,” Thompson said. ‘With that [mic] in my helmet I feel like everybody is moving around quickly and getting lined up quicker.”
Thompson has never been the play-caller in his career, but started to learn and practice with the mic in his helmet during this year's OTAs and minicamp.
In June, while being interviewed on 98.7 ArizonaSports Wolf and Luke Show, Thompson revealed he already was using the mic and that his knowledge of the defense was going to help the team.
“They finally put in the little mic thing in my helmet so that I can make the calls for the whole defense,” Thompson said. “I know the defense in and out. I know what other guys are doing. I know what the D-line is doing.”
In order to find the right play-caller the Cardinals will have multiple players on defense with the mic in their helmets during this year's training camp, but Thompson is confident he’ll be leading the defense on opening day.
“We have multiple guys that feel like they can do it,” head coach Kliff Kingsbury said. “That's what's good about having a guy like Budda [Baker] and JT [Thompson] back there, that have been in the system this long. We’ll see how that plays out, but I’d say there's four or five guys that we feel comfortable right now calling it.”
Thompson is entering his fourth season in the NFL, all with Arizona, and has seen improvement each year. After a promising rookie season, Thompson spent his second season hampered by an ankle injury. In 2022, he broke out and led the team in tackles along with three interceptions.
His progress and experience in his career is a reason why Thompson feels that he has a knack for this role.
“I feel like I’m a natural leader in that way and I can take command on the field as a safety so I feel having the mic in my helmet just comes naturally in talking to the defense and talking to the rest of the team,” he said.
Relaying plays is not an easy task, especially if it’s a player's first time. When Collins was drafted in 2021, it was said he would relays the plays, but it went to the veteran Hicks instead.
The duty requires a player to take in information from coaches, his teammates, the opposing offense, and ability to make adjustments. At the end of the day, Thompson said it just comes down to knowing your job and understanding the playbook.
Apart from the play-calling duties, Thompson is setting high expectations for himself this year. Despite a stellar season and being the second highest safety in total tackles last year, Thompson was not selected for the Pro Bowl.
“I’m trying to go [to the] Pro Bowl this year,” Thompson said. “Last year I feel like I could have made it. Unfortunately I didn’t, but (the goal) is making [the] Pro Bowl, making my team better, being a leader and obviously getting to that Super Bowl.”
