Kevin Minter finally gets to do what Arizona Cardinals drafted him to do

TEMPE, Ariz. — Kevin Minter played all of one defensive snap for the Arizona Cardinals in 2013.

The second-round pick out of LSU did not see the field — not because of anything he did wrong, but because the team had a pair of middle linebackers in Karlos Dansby and Daryl Washington who never had to leave the field.

Both are gone now, and after much anticipation, Minter will finally get his chance to do what he does best.

“It would mean a lot,” he said of getting the start Monday night against the San Diego Chargers in Week 1. “It’s what they drafted me to do. I’m supposed to be playing linebacker; it’s cool to be actually playing that position now.”

The 6-foot-0, 246-pound Minter racked up 130 total tackles in 2012 with LSU and chipped in four sacks, one interception and five passes defensed. The Cardinals obviously had some level of confidence in his abilities — otherwise, they would not have used the 45th overall pick in the draft to select him.

Unfortunately, after what had been a very productive offseason, a left pectoral muscle injury suffered in the team’s first preseason game left him on the sideline for most of training camp and all but the final preseason contest, where in which he was able to shake off some of the rust.

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