Dealing Cards: Evan Mathis will not be with Cardinals in Buffalo

TEMPE, Ariz. — The Cardinals spent some of their offseason reshaping the offensive line, and in Week 1, there were three new starters from where the team was when last season ended.

The most experienced of the new guys — and most accomplished — was right guard Evan Mathis, who came to the Cardinals after winning a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos.

Mathis suffered a foot injury in the season opener, and though it was apparently purple the following day, Mathis somehow made it through a week of practice and was able to go in Week 2 against Tampa Bay. However, he suffered a toe injury toward the end of the win over the Bucs, and on Friday head coach Bruce Arians said the veteran will not even be making the trip out to Buffalo.

“It’s all about the turf toe, the capsule,” Arians said.

That Mathis will miss Sunday’s matchup should really not be all that surprising, as he did not practice once during the week. While the 34-year-old is now in his 12th NFL season, it is his first in Arizona, meaning his knowledge of the offense is understandably a bit limited.

Arians said it would be difficult for Mathis to be ready to play Sunday without practicing due to his limited time in the offense, but noted how if the team did put him the lineup without practicing, he is confident the two-time Pro Bowler would know how to get himself ready.

That point is moot for this week, anyway, as fourth-year pro Earl Watford will get the start at right guard in place of Mathis. It will be Watford’s first start since Week 2 of last season, though he was at right tackle then.

A natural guard, Watford was prepared to start last week in case Mathis was not available, and at that time talked about it being a great opportunity to help his team.

Now he will actually get that chance.

Arians said Watford was “solid” in practice, and that was confirmed by right tackle D.J. Humphries.

What kind of impact the swap of Mathis for Watford will have on the team’s offense remains to be seen, though an interesting side story is how losing the veteran will impact Humphries. In his first season as a starter, the second-year pro has often talked about the benefit of having a player with Mathis’ experience lining up next to him.

Not long ago, Humphries said Mathis was allowed to smack him in the helmet if he messed up, which goes to show what kind of relationship the two have.

“It’s a little bit different as far as the mental standpoint between me and Evan, because we have a lot of stuff that we just made up on our own that we do,” Humphries said. “But me and Earl had a lot of time in camp, so we have pretty good chemistry together as well.

“So I don’t think it will be a big difference, as far as play and what we execute.”

The Cardinals are confident Watford, with a full week of practice at right guard, will be just fine. He’s not Mathis, though — both in terms of experience, credentials and the ability to “discipline” Humphries if he does something wrong.

“No, no, no, no, no,” Humphries said, with a laugh. “That’s only with me and the big dog.”

More injury news

The entire injury report for both teams can be found here, but for the Cardinals, linebacker Kareem Martin and defensive lineman Frostee Rucker are both listed as “doubtful.” Neither practiced all week, though Arians said they would be game-time decisions. Cornerback Justin Bethel and defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche were both limited in practice all week and are listed as “questionable.”

Okafor’s injury is a non-factor now

Linebacker Alex Okafor suffered a torn biceps during the preseason, and after some time to think decided against having surgery, as that would have likely ended his 2016 season before it began.

One of the team’s better pass rushers just two seasons ago, Okafor has seen limited action over the first two games, with just seven defensive snaps in Week 1 and 14 in Week 2. He has registered one tackle, with another coming on special teams.

But perhaps more importantly, his injury is not really an issue.

“As you get going you get comfortable playing with it,” he said. “Also, the pain starts subsiding after a couple weeks, and that’s what it’s starting to do now.”

Okafor admitted it was challenging to play with it at the beginning because there were certain moves that he had to compensate for being unable to do, but at this point he’s gotten used to playing like this.

“It’s not really restricting me too much right now,” he said.

Even if it was, Okafor said the plan was to not miss any games this season. It’s a contract year for the 2013 fourth-round pick, and he still has much to prove. After finishing with eight sacks in 2014, he slipped to just two last season before seeing his season end with a mysterious injury during the team’s playoff bye week.

Just, with the depth the team has accumulated at linebacker, his role is not what it used to be.

“Right now, obviously, I’ve got a heavy backup role; I just come in to relieve those guys, and occasionally I’ll get in on a third-and-long package or something like that,” he said. “But right now I’m just adjusting to my backup role and being ready whenever something happens.”

Overconfidence should not be an issue

It’s amazing what kind of difference one week can make, as this time last week there was not much talk about the Cardinals possibly overlooking an opponent. Of course, they were coming off a loss then and not a 40-7 win, but still, it was not an issue.

But it might be this week.

The Cardinals are facing a 0-2 football team that fired its offensive coordinator and looks to be missing a couple of key guys. On paper, the Cardinals are a much better team. But will they come in overconfident?

“Better not be,” Arians said. “You’ll get your ass beat real fast. This is a hungry, hungry football team in a tough environment to play.

“Last time I checked, they didn’t fire any players.”

Another adjective that has been used to describe the Bills this week, at least by the Cardinals, is “desperate.”

“That’s what it is, that’s exactly what it is,” Okafor said. “At this level everybody has talent so you know the margin for error is very small at this level. And when you’ve got a team like that, that’s desperate for a win, you know they’re going to come out and give you their best shot.

“So you’ve got to be ready for that.”

That’s the message that has been relayed to the team all week, whether it needed to be or not. The Bills are winless, yes, but they are not devoid of talent.

“So knowing what type of guys and what type of playmakers they have, you can never take that lightly,” Okafor said. “Because if you don’t come to play you’ll get embarrassed out there.”

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