Arizona Cardinals Dealing with Injuries Before Training Camp

With the start of training camp for the Arizona Cardinals only days away, there will already be some names on the injured list.  After throwing out the first pitch for the Arizona Diamondbacks game on Tuesday night, General Manager Steve Keim had some time to answer questions for the press. One of the questions asked was about the overall health of the team heading into training camp.

Three or four players will likely start training camp on the physically unable to perform list, Keim said. While he didn't give names, educated guesses would include safety Tyrann Mathieu (knee), defensive tackle Frostee Rucker (ankle) and outside linebacker Zack Wagenmann (foot). Keim said guard Evan Mathis, who sat out minicamp following minor surgery, is expected to be ready to go.

Mathieu is not a surprise, he is coming off another torn ACL, but seeing Rucker and Wagenmann on there is a little bit of a surprise.  Wagenmann especially will have a long battle ahead of him to make it on the roster for camp.

Rucker's is interesting in the sense that he doesn't need the camp or the reps, he just needs to be in shape for the regular season.  Except, the Arizona Caardinals have invested, heavily, along the defensive line, so maybe Rucker getting there late opens a spot up for a Red Bryant to be the veteran presence.

Mathis was a known issue and he should be ready to go close to day one of training camp, you just want as much time as possible with Shipley, Mathis and Humphries on the right side getting the cohesion they need to be successful.