Arizona Cardinals: Injuries becoming a concern

The Arizona Cardinals have found the injury bug once again in their locker room

The Arizona Cardinals spent most of the 2015 season counting their lucky stars when it came to injuries.  Yes, the team suffered a big one at the end of the season with safety Tyrann Mathieu and sure some other minor injuries occurred.

In 2014, we all remember how it was always next man up.  It seemed like every corner that was turned, another injury would appear.

We didn’t see that in 2015 but in 2016, well, it might be heading down that path.  We already started seeing that in training camp.

In camp, the Cardinals lost cornerback Mike Jenkins to a broken hand in his first practice.  Then he returned only to tear an ACL.  It knocked him out for the season.

Problematic is also a good way to describe cornerback Justin Bethel.  He had surgery on his foot and right before camp, he was deemed not ready to go.  Onto the PUP list he went.  He came off in the third week of preseason, but he still isn’t 100 percent. He did practice in full on Wednesday for what it’s worth.

On Monday head coach Bruce Arians hinted that Bethel either needs to put up or shut up. Basically, tell the team he will tough it out or the Cardinals will find his replacement.  It sounds eerily similar to running back Andre Ellington’s situation in 2014.

Receiver Larry Fitzgerald sprained his MCL.  No one considered it serious.  He sat the last two weeks of the preseason.  He looked great on Sunday night.  However he was back to a limited participant in practice on Wednesday.

Although there is no reason to believe at this point that Fitz won’t play, it is still worth paying attention to.  This could be how the Cardinals operate with Fitz every week for the time being.

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Defensive tackle Frostee Rucker is out 2-3 weeks with an injured knee.  The good news is, it likely means Ed Stinson will be active on Sunday.

Guard Evan Mathis went down on Sunday night.  He came to Arizona to finish out his career.  You have to wonder did it end earlier than expected?  His status is uncertain and did not practice on Wednesday.

Receiver J.J. Nelson hurt his shoulder early on in the loss to the New England Patriots.  He did not return.  He also did not practice on Wednesday.

Linebacker Kareem Martin, injured in the final game of the preseason, missed practice again on Wednesday.  The Cardinals are keeping him on the roster despite the chance he might miss 4-6 weeks.

Every team has their share of injuries.  Some more than others.  The Cardinals seem to be leaning towards the more rather than the others. It’s not a good trend.  We saw how much it hurt the Cardinals two years ago.