Arizona Cardinals could be missing key players for Sunday’s opener
By Jim Koch
Injuries are a growing concern for the Arizona Cardinals as the team prepares to take on a formidable group of Kansas City Chiefs.
After months of anticipation, a brand-new season of Arizona Cardinals football is set to begin. There’s plenty of excitement brewing around a team that is expected to improve upon their 11-win campaign from a year ago.
Tempering all of the optimism just a bit are a rash of injuries suffered by some key members of the Cardinals roster. Nagging ailments that are threatening to keep several important contributors on the sideline when the Redbirds host the Kansas City Chiefs this coming Sunday.
Perhaps the most ominous setback at the present time is the potentially disastrous hamstring injury that forced wide receiver Rondale Moore from the Cards practice on Thursday. The 22-year old was expected to take a huge leap in his sophomore season after a less-than-stellar rookie performance last fall.
According to reports, Moore will be undergoing an MRI to determine the severity of the hamstring issue. In the meantime, the entire organization is hoping for good news regarding the speedy wideout.
Arizona Cardinals could have injury issues on both sides of the ball this coming Sunday
If the concern about Moore’s availability isn’t enough, Arizona head coach Kliff Kingsbury announced on Wednesday that the great J.J. Watt is “day to day” with a calf strain. The absence of the five-time Pro Bowl defensive end against the Chiefs would be a crushing blow to a Cards front line that already appears to be undermanned.
After returning to practice on a limited basis on Wednesday, tight end Zach Ertz was once again a no-show on Thursday. Like Watt, the 31-year old Ertz is also suffering from a strained calf that has been ailing him since early August.
Newly-acquired cornerback Trayvon Mullen also was kept out of practice on Thursday with an injured toe. Second-year cover guy Marco Wilson will see a ton of action against a potent Kansas City passing attack if Mullen can’t go, and that’s a very scary thought to say the least.
In a bit of positive news, Cardinals starting center Rodney Hudson was back out there on Thursday after what was apparently a day of rest for the offensive line’s anchor on Wednesday. Outside linebacker Markus Golden also returned to the practice field on Thursday after nursing a toe injury that had sidelined the veteran since August 1st.
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It goes without saying that Arizona will need all hands on deck this coming weekend to defeat a formidable group of Chiefs. For now, we can only hope that the wounded Cardinals can heal sufficiently enough over the next couple of days to be out there on the field on Sunday.