Cardinals OL Mike Iupati to miss final 4 games with knee injury

Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Mike Iupati will be placed on injured reserved due to an MCL injury, head coach Steve Wilks announced at his Monday press conference.

Iupati, 31, was carted off the field after he injured his left knee in the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers.

The team is unsure of the severity of Iupati’s injury, as they await the MRI results.

The Cardinals also announced rookie wide receiver Christian Kirk will also be placed on injured reserve after he suffered a broken foot on Sunday.

Rookie guard Colby Gossett replaced Iupati and finished the game as the Cardinals earned their third win of the season, 20-17. He was one of four injury replacements along the line — not including center Mason Cole, who replaced injured veteran A.Q. Shipley in the preseason.

Left tackle Korey Cunningham, Gossett, Cole, right guard Oday Aboushi and right tackle Will Holden finished the game Sunday.

Left tackle D.J. Humphries is expected back from a knee injury next week against the Detroit Lions, which would push Cunningham, a rookie seventh-round pick, to the starting right tackle spot.

“I thought they played great,” Wilks said of the line. “You look at Will Holden who just got here this week … I thought he played well. The same thing with Korey Cunningham. He’s continued to progress and get better each week.”

In his ninth season and fourth with Arizona, Iupati has started and played in 10 of 12 games this season. He missed Weeks 7 and 10 battling a back injury.

Iupati has not started all 16 games of the regular season since 2012 when he earned First-Team All-Pro honors in his third season with the San Francisco 49ers. He missed 15 games last season with a triceps injury.

With four games remaining for Arizona, Gossett could remain as the starter at left guard as he is listed at the only backup offensive guard as of now. Other linemen listed on the Cardinals roster who will add depth include C/G Daniel Munyer, Holden and rookie Zack Golditch.

Iupati joins four offensive linemen in John Wetzel, Jeremy Vujnovich, Justin Pugh and A.Q. Shipley on the Cardinals’ injured reserve list.

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