Daryl Washington was a spectator at Cardinals practice Wednesday, certainly not a surprise after he suffered a strained calf in the season opener.

“It felt pretty good today,” he said as he came off the field. “I tried a little jogging on it today but it’s a little sore, still going to be a little sore so give it a couple more days.”

So while his teammates worked on correcting mistakes from the week one victory and prepared for week two, Washington got in his work on the side: riding the stationary bike and exercising with trainers.

“He’s improving. We’ll see how it progresses later in the week” is all head coach Ken Whisenhunt offered up on his starting inside linebacker.

Washington got off to a strong start Sunday against Carolina, posting six tackles, a sack, a tackle for a loss, a quarterback hit plus an interception, the second of his career. He would’ve had two INTs if it weren’t for a roughing the passer penalty on Richard Marshall.

“I was looking forward to having a big game,” explained Washington, who started 11 of 16 games as a rookie last season. “Obviously, us winning and playing at home you’ve got to be happy about that. The first game I wanted to make a statement.

“For the most part I feel good,” he added. “With my injury right now I have to just continue to keep rehabbing and making sure I’m doing the necessary things so that hopefully I can get back as soon as possible.”

As soon as Sunday? “That’s the plan.”

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