John Brown, Iupati and Humphries will not play at Colts
Sep 15, 2017, 12:44 PM | Updated: 1:30 pm
Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians announced Friday that a trio of Cardinals have been ruled out ahead of Sunday’s contest, according to 98.7 FM, Arizona’s Sports Station’s Craig Grialou.
Wide receiver John Brown and offensive linemen Mike Iupati and D.J. Humphries will not travel with the team when they take on the Colts in Indianapolis.
Arians: John Brown, Mike Iupati and D.J. Humphries ruled out; won't travel#AZCardinals
— Craig Grialou (@CraigAZSports) September 15, 2017
Brown is dealing with a quadricep injury, Iupati a tricep issue and Humphries has been sidelined with knee problems.
Brown’s health problems have been well documented. In 2016, he suffered a concussion in training camp and was restricted by hamstring issues, which then led to a blood test that revealed he carried the sickle-cell trait. After finally getting that under control, yet with him still not feeling great, a cyst was discovered and removed on his spine.
“He just can’t stay healthy right now,” Arians said. “It’s just a matter now of next guy to step up and go because I don’t know when he’s going to be healthy.”
Without Brown, the Cardinals lose their No. 1 deep-ball threat. Jaron Brown and J.J. Nelson will likely be asked to fill that role now. Brittan Golden and rookie Chad Williams will also be more involved in the game-plan, according to Arians.
Last week, Brown was targeted nine times, catching four balls for 32 yards. He was on the field for 63 snaps, or 84 percent of the offense.
On the offensive line, John Wetzel will replace Humphries, as he did last week in Detroit; and veteran Alex Boone, whom the Cardinals only signed recently, will start for Iupati.
“I don’t fill great about it, but those guys have played a lot of football,” Arians said. “Wetzel, I’ve seen Wetzel play better football than he played last week so with a week’s work he should play better this week.”
