Cardinals rookie OL Hayden Conner to miss time with knee injury

TEMPE — Arizona Cardinals rookie offensive lineman Hayden Conner is going to miss some time with the knee injury he suffered in Saturday’s preseason loss to the Denver Broncos, head coach Jonathan Gannon said Monday.

After getting some late run at center last week, Conner got the starting nod for Week 2 of the preseason.

Three plays into Arizona’s opening drive, the rookie went down with the knee injury.

Conner left the game under his own power but did not return.

Before going down with the injury, Conner had shown steady growth since getting looks at center in training camp.

Despite a rough July 28 practice that included three botched snaps, Conner has bounced back.

He proved that during last week’s win over Kansas City.

Changing out one Cardinals center for the other

While Conner is expected to miss some time with the knee injury, fellow backup option Jon Gaines II could be back snapping the football this week.

The interior lineman has been dealing with a thumb injury picked up in training camp and has been unable to snap.

From the sounds of it, though, that could change this week.

“He’s got a cast on so he can’t exactly snap, although I think this week he might be able to snap,” Gannon said.

Amid Gaines working himself back from the thumb injury, the lineman has still gotten reps at guard.

Last week’s loss to the Broncos was a strong showing for the lineman in both run and passing downs.

“He’s resilient, he really is. He puts a lot into his craft,” Gannon said. “He’s an A++ character, he’s tough as nails and he’s one of the smartest guys we’ve got in that room.

“His value of being able to play multiple positions and things like that, I feel good about him and where his game’s at right now.”

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