Arizona Cardinals suffer injuries first day of camp
By Scott Allen
The Arizona Cardinals already see the injury bug appear
That didn’t take long. Aside from the injuries the Arizona Cardinals had pre-training camp, they suffered a couple of injuries on the first day of practice at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale on Friday.
Cornerback Mike Jenkins, just signed last week, broke his hand on Friday. Also defensive tackle Red Bryant has a sore Achilles and tight end Jermaine Gresham has a tight hamstring.
Jenkins was expected to compete for a starting corner spot, a position already in question going into training camp. Now he is out indefinitely.
As for Bryant, that is hard to see after seeing how hard he works to do what he does. He’s at a position where there are nine guys fighting for six or seven spots. Any injury is considered a set back for anyone on the defensive line at this point.
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The Gresham news is disappointing. He started out with injury issues right at the outset of camp last season as well. The other day I mentioned how it is important for Gresham to get off to a better start in camp this year. It appears that will not happen. No timetable on Gresham but he will not practice on Saturday.
In other injury news, coach Bruce Arians gave an update on rookie defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche, who sprained his ankle earlier this week. He has a high ankle sprain and is expected to miss about two weeks. That’s not good news for a rookie trying to learn a new system.
You’re going to have injuries every year and we know the Cardinals had their fair share in 2014 and even in 2015. However after just one day of practice the injuries are already starting to mount up. Jenkins seems to be the most serious at this point but the Cardinals need to be healthy to have a shot at the Super Bowl in 2016. Depth will be tested early in camp.