Because it is training camp, Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury chooses not to go into details about who on the roster is injured, what type of injuries they are or how long they might be out.
He is not required to.
But based on a flurry of recent roster moves, it appears that there are injury issues on the defensive line.
After Tuesday’s roster moves, they have 12 defensive linemen on the offseason roster, one on injured reserve and one (J.J. Watt) on PUP.
Xavier Williams was placed on injured reserve. They have appeared to be shorthanded for practice. Jordan Phillips, Rashard Lawrence, Zach Allen and David Parry have missed time.
While it is only training camp, it does raise the level of concern because of the issues they had with injuries on the defensive line last season. Phillips landed on injured reserve twice, while Allen, Lawrence, Leki Fotu, Corey Peters and newly signed Josh Mauro all had stints on IR in 2020.
For Saturday’s practice, it appeared they only had three defensive linemen healthy — Fotu, Michael Dogbe and undrafted rookie Cam Murray.
Kingsbury said Allen will be back soon and indicated Phillips wouldn’t be out long, but he has missed over a week.
With Watt still on PUP, they are having a tough time just keeping enough players healthy so they have bodies for practice.
When the Cardinals play their preseason opener Friday night against the Dallas Cowboys, there will be a slew of new faces on the defensive line.
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