The Arizona Cardinals, already shorthanded to start the season at cornerback because of Patrick Peterson’s six-game suspension, now will have their depth tested further. Cornerback Robert Alford suffered a leg injury that will keep him out “a significant amount of time,” head coach Kliff Kingsbury said after the Cardinals lost 33-26 to the Oakland Raiders on Thursday.
He described the injury as a lower-leg injury. It happened in practice on Tuesday. He expects Alford to miss a chunk of the regular season.
How much exactly?
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, he is expected to miss about two months.
With three weeks remaining until the regular season begins, two months would have him missing four or five games to start the year.
That means playing the first part of the season without their top two corners.
While Peterson is suspended and Alford is out, now Tramaine Brock and rookie Byron Murphy project as starters and second-year corner Chris Jones could now get significant playing time.
Alford’s injury also means that the Cardinals will also probably have to keep an extra defensive back on the roster because his injury, based on the timeline given by Schefter, is not enough to put him on injured reserve.
The Cardinals have two preseason games remaining to figure out what they need to do with the roster to prepare for being without their top two cornerbacks.
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