Cardinals’ Sean Weatherspoon glad to be back on the field

It’s rare to see veterans out on the field in the second half of the fourth preseason game.

Arizona Cardinals linebacker Sean Weatherspoon became one of those rarities Thursday night in Denver. Weatherspoon played into the second half of the Cardinals’ 22-20 win over the Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, although that wasn’t the plan.

“Spoon was really done at halftime but he said ‘hey, let me play a little bit more.’ So we let him play a little bit into the third,” head coach Bruce Arians said.

Weatherspoon registered three tackles in his first preseason action. He has been slowed by a hamstring injury that kept him out for most of the team’s training camp in Glendale.

“He said it’s on me,” Weatherspoon said about his exchange with Arians. “He was like ‘how are you feeling.’ I said ‘good.’ He said ‘you want to go back out.’ That’s what we did and really focused on just getting loose again, you know it’s a little different. Ultimately, I went out and did some good things, there are some things I need to work on.

“Obviously, I haven’t really played football since December 22, 2013, so I’ll take it today. I’ll take it.”

The end of Weatherspoon’s stint with the Atlanta Falcons was marred by injuries. The 27-year-old had his 2014 season wiped away by a ruptured Achilles tendon. In 2013, he appeared in just seven games due to a foot injury.

“Man, it’s been a while,” Weatherspoon said. “I’m just thankful to be a part of the team and get a chance to get out there and get some work in. It’s always good to go out and get some hits and take some hits, run around, get tired a little bit — it’s all in good fun and I look forward to just continuing to work hard and get in better shape.”

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