–The Cardinals placed defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche on injured reserve with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Head coach Steve Wilks said Nkemdiche was scheduled to undergo surgery on Thursday. He was injured during the Cardinals’ 17-3 loss to the Lions this past Sunday.
Nkemdiche, a first-round pick in 2016, has missed 21 games over the past three seasons due to injuries or coach’s decision and the Cardinals must decide if they will pick up his fifth-year option in the spring.
“The last couple of weeks, I thought he played well,” Wilks said. “He had that lull when he was hurt. He was out for a while. I thought he came back and had a great game against the Chargers. Just inconsistent because he hasn’t been on the field.”
–Nkemdiche is the 15th player the Cardinals have placed on injured reserve this season. He joins fellow defensive tackle Olsen Pierre on IR. Pierre also suffered a knee injury. With those injuries and others, the Cardinals’ defensive tackles on the active roster has shrunk to just three – starters Corey Peters and Rodney Gunter and newly-signed backup Vincent Valentine.
“It’s definitely better playing with guys you’re comfortable with and understanding how to play off of each other,” Peters said. “But I think it’s easier to kind of plug and play on defense than it is on offense. We should be able to get somebody in, get them up to speed and expect a pretty good performance.”
–Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald caught a 14-yard pass on Sunday in the third quarter against the Lions, moving him ahead of Hall of Famer Jerry Rice (1,281 with the 49ers) and into first place in NFL history for the most receptions with a single team. Fitzgerald now has 1,286 with the Cardinals.
“I don’t know. My mind is not there,” Fitzgerald said after the game, a 17-3 loss by the Cardinals. “I am just frustrated with the way things turned out. It is just frustrating.”
–“You guys see (the missed throws), I see the ball that we throw away. This kid is doing a good job. You’d be amazed about how many balls we count that’s just throwaways where he’s doing the right thing. … I know the numbers, I see them. But I also know what we’re asking him to do play-in, play-out and the situations he’s been in as a whole. He’s been in some tough situations where he just had to really just get rid of the ball. I wish he was completing 70 percent of his passes. I mean, who are we kidding? But he’s a rookie. He’s going to learn. He’ll eventually get there. He’s coming there, he’s getting there. … Those numbers will get better as we go.” – Offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich on rookie quarterback Josh Rosen’s 55.4 completion percentage and his tendency to overthrow receivers.
–Despite playing in front of an entirely new offensive line with five different starters than the unit that reported to training camp, rookie quarterback Josh Rosen won’t sit out any of the Cardinals’ remaining three games to save him from potential injury, head coach Steve Wilks said.
“I think Josh is getting valuable reps, and I’ve said that before. He can’t get enough,” Wilks said. “Talking to (offensive coordinator) Byron (Leftwich), there are so many different looks that he needs to see. In saying that, I think we have to do a great job from a protection standpoint whether it’s moving the pocket, seven-man protections and those kinds of things to help Josh. To sit him, I don’t think it would be advantageous to do that. I think it is an opportunity for him to continue to grow and progress towards next year.”
BY THE NUMBERS: 11 – Interceptions by the Cardinals against Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan in the last four regular-season meetings between the two clubs. Ryan has thrown four interceptions or more in a game only twice in his career and both times it has come against the Cardinals, who intercepted him five times (2012) and four times (2013).
