Arizona Cardinals lose cornerback Robert Alford

First Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson is suspended and now his replacement Robert Alford suffers a significant injury

When Arizona Cardinals cornerback Robert Alford didn’t come out of the locker room before the team’s game and subsequent loss to the Oakland Raiders, there was certainly some concern.  Now it looks like those concerns were validated.

After the game it was announced that Alford, signed as a free agent in February to play alongside Patrick Peterson and as some believe, Peterson’s replacement as the Cardinals knew about his impending suspension, had suffered a significant leg injury.  It came as a surprise for many Cardinals fans.

Before the game there was a lot of speculation as to why he was not out on the field.  He was expected to play a bit Thursday night against the Raiders as the Cardinals tried to integrate the relationship between Alford, rookie Byron Murphy, and Chris Jones.

Now it looks like Murphy and Jones are the front runners to be the starters once the regular season begins on September 8th against the Detroit Lions.  Murphy will be great soon and Jones has real future potential but opponent offenses must now be marking the Cardinals on their schedules salivating to get at the team.

It’s really an unfortunate situation.  However given the Cardinals luck with injuries over the last few seasons, it really shouldn’t come as a surprise.  This is what we’ve become to know as the norm.

Alford is expected to miss a couple of months according to reports.  That puts him back in the October-November time frame.  Peterson is to return after week six.  His first game back will be week seven against the New York Giants.

The Cardinals will now also need Tramaine Brock more than ever.  Based on his performance on Thursday night, it appears Deatrick Nichols is not ready to help the team.  Next man up.