The Arizona Cardinals’ injury news is finally trending in the right direction.
In his press conference on Monday, Oct. 26, head coach Mike LaFleur said the current plan is for running back Jeremiyah Love to participate when the Cardinals open their week of practice on Wednesday, Oct. 28.
“So we’ll see how the week goes,” LaFleur said.
Love missed the past two games with a lingering ankle injury, as the Cardinals aim to get him back to full health. He had previously played through the injury, but was lacking his typical explosiveness, prompting the Cardinals to temporarily shut him down. He has not practiced at all during the past two weeks.
That’s not the only injury boost. LaFleur said the team expects cornerback Max Melton and safety Andrew Wingard
— both of whom are dealing with knee injuries — to return to practice on Oct. 28.
That would be a major boon to a Cardinals’ secondary that struggled in their Week 7 loss to the Denver Broncos. Melton has been the Cardinals’ most productive cornerback this season, while their safety play has been severely lacking in Wingard’s absence.
The Cardinals have rotated through three options at that spot over the past four weeks: Wydett Williams, Dadrion Taylor-Demerson and Garrett Williams, a cornerback playing out of position. None of them have performed well in that role. For Garrett Williams, the impact is multi-faceted, as playing safety takes him out of a nickel cornerback role where he is one of the Cardinals’ better defensive players.
On the flip side, LaFleur said that the Cardinals are “not expecting” defensive tackle Walter Nolen at practice to begin the week. Nolen suffered an ankle injury in Week 6 against the Los Angeles Rams and missed Week 7.
Wide receiver Jalen Brooks is also out for the season, with a wrist injury that he sustained in the first quarter against the Broncos. Brooks played through the injury in the loss, but will now undergo surgery.
“What a tough dude,” LaFleur said. “Didn't say anything to anybody. … Can’t say enough about how tough that dude is.”
Bad news on James Conner, Tip Reiman
LaFleur was asked, in his press conference, whether he expected running back James Conner and tight end Tip Reiman to return this season. His answers did not convey a high degree of optimism.
“JC, potentially,” LaFleur said of Conner. He added: “He knows his body, and he knows where he's at, and I'll leave it at that.”
Reiman’s return sounded even less probable: “Tip, not too sure.”
During spring practices, the Cardinals had expected Reiman to be healthy to start training camp — a time frame that has long since gone out the window.
“It's just not responding the way that he would like,” LaFleur said. “That's kind of where it's at right now.”
Why Cardinals are sticking with Brissett
LaFleur reiterated that the Cardinals are sticking with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback, amid their 2-5 start. He pointed to the Cardinals’ ability to move the ball until they get into the red zone.
“We lead the league in 12-plus play drives,” LaFleur said. “We've been down inside the 10-yard line, in goal-to-go situations, No. 2 behind the Bears this year. Who are a pretty dang good offense. The difference between those teams that have been down there a lot — the Rams, the Bears, the Bills, the Lions — is they're finishing the job, and we're not.”
The Cardinals had a solid red zone offense until the past two weeks, when they have scored a touchdown on just one of 10 red zone trips. They now rank last in that category, at 42.9% on the year.
“Clearly I've gotta have better scheme,” LaFleur said. “I've gotta call better plays, and then we've gotta go execute and give them the clarity to do so.”
LaFleur explains hook-and-ladder reaction
When the Cardinals failed on a fourth-and-13 hook-and-ladder early in the fourth quarter, the CBS cameras caught LaFleur with a look of disbelief on his face, muttering, “Wow.”
He said that reaction was because he thought the Cardinals should have had a touchdown on the play.
“Called the play, got the (cover-0 blitz),” LaFleur said. “Thought it was kind of a dream. … I thought that was gonna end up walking in for a touchdown and it didn't. We've gotta clean up the details.”
LaFleur declined to explain what those details were, but it seemed that Brissett’s pass was high and wide to Kendrick Bourne, giving the defense an indication that a pitch was coming. Brooks could have also attempted to seal the Broncos’ cornerback to the inside — rather than to the outside — giving him a more difficult path to make the tackle.
If the Cardinals could have converted that play into a 40-yard score, they would have drawn within a touchdown with over 12 minutes remaining.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cardinals deliver updates on Jeremiyah Love, James Conner injuries
