McManaman: Cardinals should target Titans backup QB Zach Mettenberger

We’re still a few scant weeks away from the start of the NFL regular season, but the Arizona Cardinals are already feeling the affects of the injury bug.  It was announced Thursday that the Cardinals would be without the services of offensive guard Mike Iupati (knee) for the next three to eight weeks, while defensive lineman Corey Peters has been lost for the season with a ruptured Achilles.

While it’s an unfortunate reality for the preseason to be marred by significant injuries, it is a reality nonetheless.  Coaches and front office personnel do what they can to have contingency plans in place, while players simply fighting for a spot on the roster are suddenly gifted the opportunity to compete for a starting role.

As it pertains to Iupati, Bob McManaman — senior sportswriter for The Arizona Republic — is confident head coach Bruce Arians and the Cards can manage the situation.  He joined Bickley and Marotta on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Friday to shed some light on what exactly Arizona’s options are when it comes to temporarily filling Iupati’s void.

“A knee scope usually isn’t that big a deal with a meniscus,” McManaman said.  “I’ve seen guys come back in three weeks.  This is a big guy and a lineman who is a pulling guard and a great run blocker and it might take him another week or two or three longer than it takes a [defensive back] or a tight end.  The good news is, they’re inserting a guy (Ted Larsen) that started 17 games for them last year, so I’m not terribly concerned there.”

McManaman feels similarly about the Cardinals ability to compensate for the loss of Peters, who was regarded as a key offseason addition when the team signed the former Kentucky product this spring after spending the previous five seasons with the Atlanta Falcons.  Though the loss of Peters hurts, McManaman doesn’t believe the injury will drastically affect the defensive line unit’s morale or quality of play.

“You would think it does, losing a starter for the year before you’ve played a game, but if there was any a place they could afford it, it was on the defensive line quite frankly,” McManaman said.  “That’s where the depth is.  There’s depth on both lines on both sides of the ball, but I love Rodney Gunter and I think he could be a superstar within a year.  It shows you that he’s jumping from third-string, fourth-string all the way up to a starting role — at least this week.  He can play anywhere on the front, and I love Corey Peters, but this is the second torn Achilles in basically two and a half years.”

Though adding an extra body along the defensive line doesn’t seem likely at this point, McManaman offered a somewhat fresh take on what the Cardinals should do in the event they run into depth issues under center.  Last season, Arizona’s woes at quarterback were well documented after Carson Palmer suffered a season-ending knee injury Week 6 versus St. Louis.  To avoid similar trials and tribulations this season, McManaman believes the Cards should go all in on one particular backup quarterback currently holding a clipboard in the AFC South.

“Here’s the position no one is talking about: Quarterback,” McManaman said.  “Shouldn’t you bring in another guy just in case since Logan Thomas apparently isn’t going to be the guy?  Why haven’t they done that yet?  What happens if something happens to ‘No. 3’ (Carson Palmer).

“Here’s my take, guys and this is just my opinion, but I think some people will share it.  Zach Mettenberger is going to be there for the taking in Tennessee and that’s a good, solid young player who could fit really nicely into Bruce’s offense, in my opinion.  If you could trade some of your depth, even at wide receiver, running back, defensive line, secondary — they’re a little thin there right now — but to get that guy, I think they could do it.  I think it would be a hell of a move.”

One highly publicized acquisition the Cardinals did make to their offensive backfield was that of running back Chris Johnson.  Prior to his only season with the New York Jets in 2014, Johnson rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his previous six seasons with the Tennessee Titans, including a magnificent 2009 campaign that saw “CJ2k” rush for over 2,000 yards.  According to McManaman, Johnson is already fitting in famously with his new stable mates in the running back meeting room.

“What I love is that him and Ellington are like best buddies now,” McManaman said.  “That was the biggest concern I had.

“Some of the things you hear about a guy when you don’t really know him — will he be standoff-ish, will he be me-first with a CJ2K kind of attitude? — but Ellington warmed up to him right away.  Chris Johnson and him are hanging out everywhere they go, and I love that.  They’re the same kind of player, which is great.  You just have a healthy one now in CJ because he doesn’t get hurt.  He’s shown a lot of quick moves and we’ll see a little bit of them Saturday in five or six plays.  And I’ll tell ya, here’s a little tip, when he goes into the game as No. 27, the Cardinals will not be throwing the ball…Arians doesn’t want him on any blitz pickup at all.  Even though he can do it, he just doesn’t know the offense well enough to risk Carson Palmer getting killed.”