Cardinals notebook: Rookie Trey McBride set to make debut vs. Ravens

GLENDALE — After getting a handful of days back on the practice field, Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury has seen enough from rookie tight end Trey McBride ahead of the team’s Sunday Night Football matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.

As the head coach put it Wednesday, “He’s going to play.”

It’s a positive sign for the rookie, who was originally supposed to see his fair share of work in Arizona’s preseason win over the Cincinnati Bengals before a sore back derailed that plan.

“He made a couple of nice catches,” Kingsbury said of his play Wednesday. “He’s got to get back in rhythm.

“It’s unfortunate he’s been in and out because of those back spasms, but when he gets a chance he usually makes the most of his opportunities.”

Leki Fotu dealing with a knee issue

Add defensive lineman Leki Fotu to the list of injured Cardinals.

The lineman, who has missed practice time this week, is dealing with a knee issue, Kingsbury said Wednesday.

“Shouldn’t be too long, hoping by middle of next week but we’ll see how he progresses,” the head coach added.

Fotu is among the names of young defensive linemen the Cardinals are counting on to take that next step this season after recording 19 tackles, three passes defensed and a forced fumble over 17 games played (three starts).

“I think he’s taken well to (defensive line coach Matt Burke) and his philosophy and his coaching methods,” Kingsbury said. “Physicality has always been there, the size, the athleticism. It’s just now getting off blocks and making plays.

“He’s been able to penetrate and get there, now it’s about finishing the play. He knows that’s the next step he needs to take but he’s gotten better each day.”

On the other side of the football, wide receiver Antoine Wesley is still a week or two out from a potential return from a hip/groin injury.

And while surgery has not yet been ruled out for the wideout, the team feels better and better each day with his injury progression.

Christian Matthew still waiting on that 1-on-1 battle with D-Hop

Rookie cornerback Christian Matthew definitely raised some eyebrows when he made it known shortly after he was taken in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft that he was looking forward to lining up with DeAndre Hopkins.

The word “excited” even got thrown in there at one point.

Well, a few weeks into training camp, and the highly anticipated Matthew vs. D-Hop matchup remains to be seen.

“I haven’t really gotten any reps against him yet,” Matthew said. “But I’m still waiting for that. Still waiting.”

That doesn’t mean the two haven’t linked up, however.

“He just told me to be confident, trust my size, trust my length,” Matthew said. “There’s not a lot of corners built like me so just trust that and play fast pretty much.”

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