Cardinals’ Arians ‘a little concerned’ with Mike Iupati’s arm injury
Veteran left guard Mike Iupati suffered an arm injury Monday which has Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians feeling a little antsy.
Arizona Cardinals' Mike Iupati (76) gets ready to put a block on Josh Mauro, left, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Overall, Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians is pleased with where his team is at this point of training camp.
That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have some concerns.
Namely, the offensive line, where left guard Mike Iupati left practice with a triceps injury Monday, has the veteran head coach a little antsy.
“I’m a little concerned with Iupati’s arm injury, but hopefully it calms down pretty quickly,” Arians told Bickley and Marotta Tuesday on 98.7 FM, Arizona’s Sports Station.
Not having Iupati, a four-time Pro Bowler, changes the dynamic of the starting offensive line and, of course, the depth level on it.
“The first six, I’m real comfortable (with),” Arians said, addressing the depth. “That second (group of) five or six guys, they’ve got a lot to prove.”
Veteran John Wetzel will move into Iupati’s spot at left guard for the time being. After Iupati’s exit Monday, second-year player Cole Toner jumped in to take first-team reps at guard, but for now, he’ll remain the team’s backup center behind A.Q. Shipley.
Arians should update Iupati’s injury situation following Wednesday morning’s walk-through at University of Phoenix Stadium.
The Cardinals travel to face the Atlanta Falcons Saturday at the brand-new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in their fourth of five preseason games. Kickoff is at 4:00 p.m. and pregame coverage starts at 12:30 on 98.7 FM, Arizona’s Sports Station.
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Comments
16 Comments
I think this is the last year for Iupati and/or Veldheer. Both guys are getting paid more than they produce. They need to clear cap space for DJ, Golden, etc..
Veldheer has a history of injuries. He had bicep and triceps issues with Oakland. It's all about managing the cap and you can't have these 2 guys eating that much cap space up when they are aging and injury prone. They are good players when they are in there but I fear issues will linger. Also, don't forget that Veldheer almost retired in training camp. If his passion for the game is visibly diminished you can't have that much money invested.
Both guys have been very good for the Cardinals and were a big part of the O-Line's turnaround the last few years. Jared Veldheer perennially ranks as a top 10 OT via Pro Football Focus excellent both as pass blocker n run blocker & 6"5/327pd Elite All-Pro LG Mike Iupati is one of the best OGs in football.
Last year was a flukey year in terms of injury's , a lot of guys who are normally very durable went down last year including Veldheer who tore a triceps and Iupati was banged up as well though didn't miss a whole bunch of time. Before last year though both were stalwarts along the line rarely missing any time.
Now that 6"8/330pd Jared Veldheer is fully healthy this year though & 6"5/327pd All-Pro LG Mike Iupati is in the best shape of his playing career slimming down to 327 from 347, I'd be willing to bet money both play at an extremely high level this season shoring up the line up front for the Cardinals. I think the team will move on from Mike Iupati unless he takes a pay cut now that he is 30yrs old with AZ having excellent depth and drafting the 2nd best OG in the 2017 draft, though I do think Arizona will keep Jared Veldheer for a few more years, especially if he again ranks among the top 10 OTs in the NFL ranking right in that 8th-11th spot he perennially does.