Arizona Cardinals: Coronavirus-affected players are revealed
By Jim Koch
The Arizona Cardinals have placed outside linebacker Devon Kennard and cornerback Byron Murphy on the Reserve/COVID-19 list
Earlier this year, the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals offered his take on COVID-19. According to Kliff Kingsbury, it was a matter of when, not if, the coronavirus would find it’s way into his team’s locker room. As it turns out, no truer words were ever spoken.
It was announced on Monday that a pair of Cardinals, outside linebacker Devon Kennard and cornerback Byron Murphy, have been placed on the NFL’s Reserve/COVID-19 list. Up until now, only one other Arizona player had been affected by the dreaded illness. That occurred back in September, when wide receiver KeeSean Johnson‘s 2020 campaign was also disrupted by the virus.
On Monday morning, Kingsbury gave an update on Arizona’s current situation. “Luckily, the contact tracing was limited and yesterday’s test results were all negative,” the club’s on-field leader revealed. With no additional players testing positive, the Cards planned to move forward with Monday’s practice as scheduled.
Kennard signed a free agent contract with the Cardinals back in March, after previous stints with the Detroit Lions and New York Giants. The 29-year has already missed two games this season with a calf injury he suffered back in week three. In the five appearances (four starts) he has made in ’20, Kennard has registered 10 tackles and two sacks for the Redbirds.
Murphy, the 33rd-overall pick of the 2019 draft, has played quite well in the seven appearances (five starts) he has made for Arizona this year. The 22-year old has contributed 24 tackles, four passes defensed and a sack for a Cards secondary that is vastly improved.
The Cardinals depth at outside linebacker includes Haason Reddick, Dennis Gardeck, Kylie Fitts and the newly-acquired Markus Golden. The squad suffered a major loss at the position back in week five, when sack artist Chandler Jones tore a bicep muscle during a 30-10 victory over the New York Jets.
At cornerback, Patrick Peterson and Dre Kirkpatrick remain the starters, with Kevin Peterson likely assuming Murphy’s slot-corner role. Arizona could also elect to promote Prince Amukamara, a 31-year old veteran, from the practice squad.