Arizona Cardinals: IR gets three more reservations

Aug 12, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals safety Tyvon Branch (27) against the Oakland Raiders during a preseason game at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 12, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals safety Tyvon Branch (27) against the Oakland Raiders during a preseason game at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Arizona Cardinals are sending three more players to the injured reserve list this week

When it rains, it pours.  In a season full of injuries for the Arizona Cardinals, the list got longer in Sunday’s loss to the Miami Dolphins.

The Cardinals lost three more players to injured reserve.  That will make the total number of Cardinals on injured reserve at 13 players.

Being added this week are safety Tyvon Branch, safety Deone Bucannon, and offensive lineman Ulrick John.  For Branch, it is his second trip to the injured reserve, a list he just came off of in returning last week against the Washington Redskins.

Branch tore a muscle near the groin area that was repaired earlier this season.  Bucannon has a high ankle sprain and may need surgery.  Head coach Bruce Arians indicated that the team is still evaluating the options for Bucannon.

As for John, he suffered a dislocated shoulder.  His injury adds to an already depleted offensive line.  The Cardinals lost left tackle Jared Veldheer in October and guard/tackle D.J. Humphries went into concussion protocol on Sunday.

Related Story: Cardinals playoff chances dwindle away in loss

The injuries were an issue in 2014 but the Cardinals were able to overcome many of them. However this season, the Cardinals simply don’t have enough next men up to replace the mistakes that have compounded the team issues this season.

The Cardinals injury issues started early in training camp with cornerbacks Justin Bethel and Mike Jenkins.  It was a sign of things to come unfortunately.

Now the Cardinals are left with scrambling to find more replacements to get through the last three games of the season. At this point even if the Cardinals had been able to win a couple of the most recent losses, would they be really prepared to face playoff competition?

In hindsight, it may be a good thing the Cardinals are missing the playoffs at this point.  It sure would have been interesting however to see what they could have done with a number of key personnel missing.