Arizona Cardinals’ Alex Okafor looking for redemption
By Jim Koch
By deciding to play with a torn bicep Alex Okafor is hoping to show Arizona Cardinals he has heart
The Arizona Cardinals were ready to embark on the playoffs of the 2015 season and the team was relatively healthy. Pretty unusual for an NFL team so late in the season. But something was amiss with outside linebacker Alex Okafor.
A peculiar toe injury was gonna keep him from participating in the playoffs. Needless to say, head coach Bruce Arians didn’t seem too thrilled about it. When asked by reporters to comment, all he could mutter was “ask Alex”.
Okafor showed up for the 2016 OTAs with alot to prove. Being that the toe injury didn’t occur while he was playing football, he had disappointed teammates and coaches alike.
But recently more bad news has surfaced for the pass rusher. Reports indicated that Okafor had suffered a torn biceps tendon. The options were either play with the injury or have season-ending surgery.
More from Raising Zona
- Arizona Cardinals: Could Eric Bieniemy come to the desert?
- Would Jonathan Gannon be a good fit for the Arizona Cardinals?
- Arizona Cardinals: Budda Baker right in his take regarding the next coach
- Arizona Cardinals: 3 reasons new coach should want to work with Murray
- Arizona Cardinals special teams could be completely revamped in 2023
Okafor has stepped up in a big way, opting to play through the injury. From all accounts, a torn bicep is extremely painful. The fact that he’s moving forward with his season has to be winning him brownie points within the organization.
It’s also worth mentioning that the fourth-year pro will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. If he’s able to replicate his eight-sack 2014 campaign, a nice payday could be ahead.
But if he is going to be successful this year it will have to be in a backup role. The Cardinals’ acquisition of Chandler Jones has pushed him to third on the depth chart, behind Jones and Markus Golden. But he should get opportunities nonetheless.
The easy way out would’ve been for Okafor to have the season-ending surgery and collect the pay checks. He has elected not to do that. For that alone he deserves kudos.