Arizona Cardinals expecting help from Robert Alford in 2020
By Jim Koch
The Arizona Cardinals secondary suffered an unfortunate blow when cornerback Robert Alford fractured his tibia back in August
Over the past several years, the Arizona Cardinals have been attempting to fill the void they’ve had at their number-two cornerback post. General manager Steve Keim has brought in an assortment of candidates for the job, but none have been anything more than a band-aid. Patrick Peterson has been a fixture as the Cards top cover guy since 2011, but finding someone suitable to play opposite the perennial Pro Bowler has been a difficult challenge.
Arizona’s front office felt that they had finally accomplished their mission when they landed Robert Alford back in February. Just two days after he was released by the Atlanta Falcons, Keim signed the free agent to a three-year, $22.5 million contract. After a handful of unsuccessful attempts, had the Cardinals finally solved the cover guy dilemma with the acquisition of Alford?
Unfortunately, that question has not yet been answered. Back in August, Alford suffered a fractured tibia during a training camp practice. The veteran was placed on the injured-reserve list, and the Cards have given no indication that the 31-year old will see any action before this season comes to an end.
The Cardinals could certainly use Alford for the final month of the current campaign. Coordinator Vance Joseph‘s secondary has been utterly awful for the better part of 2019. Alford’s setback was just one of Arizona’s problems at the cornerback spot.
Things got off to a bad start back in May, when the NFL handed Peterson a six-game suspension for using PEDs. Tramaine Brock Sr., who’s at his best in the slot, had to play on the outside and has gotten exposed at times. Young corners such as Byron Murphy, Kevin Peterson and Chris Jones have been hampered by their lack of experience.
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While it’s unlikely that Alford will play this year, Arizona can look forward to having him around in 2020. After this season’s disaster, major improvements will be needed on the defensive side of the ball. The Cards will be relying on Alford to be a significant part of that much-needed transformation next fall.