Cardinals place A.Q. Shipley on IR with torn ACL

The Arizona Cardinals announced Tuesday they have placed starting center A.Q. Shipley on the injured reserve list with a torn ACL.

Shipley went down with the injury Saturday during the Cardinals’ Red & White practice at University of Phoenix Stadium, and the team confirmed the severity of his right knee injury Monday.

“Very unfortunate situation for him and the team,” first-year Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks said in a press conference Monday. “As I mentioned a couple days ago, a tremendous leader, hard worker.

“When you talk about the DNA that I look for, a guy that loves the game, very passionate, gritty, really was a leader up front. It’s going to be an opportunity for other guys to be able to step up at this time.”

Shipley started all 16 games in each of the past two seasons and in 2017 was the only Cardinals offensive lineman to remain healthy for the entire year.

Rookie Mason Cole will step into Shipley’s starting spot alongside left tackle D.J. Humphries, left guard Mike Iupati, right guard Justin Pugh and right tackle Andre Smith.

Cole was the Cardinals’ third-round pick (97th overall) in the 2018 NFL Draft.

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