Cards have help on way vs. Dolphins
The injuries have been worse elsewhere around the NFL, but the Cardinals haven’t been immune to losing their fair share of starters and key performers in 2020.
It started in training camp with the second straight, season-ending injury to cornerback Robert Alford, this time to a torn pectoral muscle. During their season-opening victory at the 49ers, they lost starting strong safety Jalen Thompson to an ankle injury and he’s missed the past six games.
Tight end Maxx Williams (ankle) hasn’t played since that game, either, but the biggest lost of all came during Week 5 when Arizona lost star edge rusher Chandler Jones to a season-ending torn biceps. Since then, the Cardinals have also had to place right guard J.R. Sweezy (elbow), rookie defensive
lineman Rashard Lawrence (calf), defensive lineman Zach Allen (ankle) and linebacker Isaiah Irving (neck) on injured reserve.
During Sunday’s 37-34 overtime victory over the Seahawks, the Cardinals also lost running back Kenyan Drake with an ankle injury along with defensive tackle Jordan Phillips and middle linebacker Jordan Hicks to second-half injuries, the significance of which are not yet known.
Help, however, is on the way.
During that string of injuries, General Manager Steve Keim has been adding replacements one and two at a time and soon, perhaps in advance of this coming Sunday’s game against the visiting Dolphins, a handful or so of the reinforcements, plus some of the returning injured players, should be available to play.
They include Thompson and Williams, plus veteran newcomers such as safety T.J. Ward, cornerback Prince Amukamara, linebacker Reggie Gilbert, defensive lineman Josh Mauro and edge rusher Markus Golden, whom the Cardinals re-acquired in an Oct. 23rd trade with the Giants in exchange for a sixthround pick next year.
“He fits perfectly into our plan,” Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said of Golden, who has 201 tackles, 41 for loss, and 301⁄ sacks since en
2 tering the league with Arizona as a second-round pick out of Missouri in 2015. “He’s a classic outside ’backer, he loves to be in a two-point stance, he loves to get one-on-one in pass rushes and he’s a guy that plays hard.
“As an outside backer with his relentless personality, he’s going to make plays for us. Watching him over the years as an outside rusher, man, he overwhelms tackles just with effort and that’s what it takes in this league. Most sacks aren’t cute rushes. It’s dirty, it’s grimy and it’s tough and that’s the kind of player he is, so that’s a great gift for our defense at the moment.”
In accordance with NFL rules under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Cardinals players were off from Thursday through Sunday during their off week and won’t report back to work until Monday. Joseph, however, is confident that the roster has been strengthened despite the losses and is encourage about injured players being able to return.
“We’ve got guys that we’ve acquired the last couple weeks that have been working in the package, obviously, and hopefully, they’re ready to play for us vs.
Miami,” he said. “I think Prince is close. He’s been on our practice squad … and he’s a very, very bright guy. He’s been in games, so when his time is called, he’ll play well for us.
“We added a couple D-linemen here recently that we’re excited about it and hopefully, a corner in the future here, so we’ll see.”
After already signing Amukamara, the former Glendale Apollo High standout and 10-year pro, the Cardinals (5-2) announced two days after Joseph made that comment that they had also signed De’Vante Bausby, a 6-2, 190-pound cornerback who spent the past two years with the Broncos.
The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday at 2 p.m. (Arizona time) and although it’s probably doubtful that Keim and the Cardinals will make any kind of big splash beforehand, it’s impossible to predict the future. They could pull off a trade, but it’s not likely to include some of the big names that have been bandied about nationally such as Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore, the NFL’s reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, or Texas edge rusher J.J. Watt, who won the same award three times (2012, 2014-15).
If Keim does make a major trade by Tuesday’s deadline, it will only further the narrative that the Cardinals believe they are legitimate playoff contenders who are in win-now mode in the most serious of ways. But even if another deal isn’t made, the Cardinals like their chances as things stand. Especially with reinforcements either making their way back or making their debuts.
“It’s always fun to have guys coming back and to add guys who have played in games,” Joseph said. “It only makes you stronger moving forward. We’re excited about that. Steve and his staff, every
single day, they’re searching for guys who can help us. And it’s been fun to watch him bring in guys and watch our staff coach those guys to get them on the field immediately.”
Another element that should help is how the Cardinals respond coming out of their off week. Last season, they were 3-7-1 at the break, and then got crushed by the Rams 34-7. It was the one game all season, according to Kingsbury, where he felt his players “were just noncompetitive.”
“I thought we had a bad week of practice and it rolled right into Thanksgiving,” he said. “It was kind of a combination of things and we were awful against the Rams. They kind of embarrassed us. We have to individually take it upon ourselves to keep the focus and stay dialed in and stay on this energy that we’re on right now.”
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, teams are restricted from traveling out of their home state during their bye week. Players and coaches are also required to keep getting tested daily at their team facility. Between those two extra safety protocols alone, football and focus should take on a priority.
It has for second-year Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, who is one pace to become the first player in NFL history to pass for 4,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a single season.
“For me, there is no bye week,” Murray said. “Last year we kind of treated it like there was a bye week. This year, the head stays down. There is no bye week for me. I’m going to keep at it and be ready to come back and lead these guys.”