Arizona Cardinals Injury Report: Roster Moves Bring Juggernaut Back

With the injury situation that the Arizona Cardinals have after their loss to the Baltimore Ravens, it required movement on the roster. Fullback Anthony Sherman's ankle is going to sideline him a bit, so the team brought back fullback Reagan Maui'a, as they have no other fullback on the roster. However, the signing had its rippling effects. 

To make room for Maui'a, defensive lineman Ron Talley was waived and signed to the practice squad, which led to the waiving of defensive tackle Ricky Lumpkin.

Maui'a was one of the team's final cuts after the preseason and played very well, but was outplayed by the rookie Sherman.  

Maui'a has had a bit of a cult following here in town, but don't expect him to stay long. Think something along the lines of when the Cardinals brought back punter Ben Graham. It was to fill in for the injured starter for a week or two. 

Obviously it is nice for the team to have a guy who should be able to step right in without much problem because he was with the team last season and here during the whole preseason. He will allow the team to not have to lose or change some of their offensive packages. Late in the game it was tight end Jim Dray lining up as a fullback.

We know his time will be short here again, but it does benefit him as well. In addition to the NFL paycheck he is earning for now, if he plays well, this next game or two should serves a tryout tape for the rest of the league. Playing fullback is not the easiest way to stay in the league, but if you do the job well, you can bounce around enough to do okay for yourself. Such is the life of a journeyman.

Note:

In case you were wondering about it, Maui'a was suspended by Roger Goodell after he was cut. The suspension covered the first three weeks of the season and three weeks once he was signed. He will play on Sunday.

Also regarding that suspension, I wrote with an understanding that it was for a violation of the league's policy regarding performance enhancing substances. I remember somewhere having read that it was for that reason. Looking back, I could not find anything other than what I wrote about it. Turns out I imagined reading that, I guess. It was, in fact, not anything to do with PEDs, but rather a violation of the league's substance abuse policy. My apologies to you all for the misinformation and to Maui'a for having portrayed him in that fashion.