The prognosis is bad and unknown for Deone Bucannon heading into the 2017 season.
The bad is that we know he will not play in the week one matchup with the Detroit Lions because of his ankle. The unknown is how long the Cardinals could be without their $LB as Bucannon had a setback in practice and could miss more time.
What about the rest of the injury report?
First @AZCardinals injury report of the season. #AZvsDET pic.twitter.com/untMKTsuP1
— Darren Urban (@Cardschatter) September 6, 2017
Larry Fitzgerald and Carson Palmer got their normal Wednesday’s off, and Mike Iupati was back, but limited with that triceps issue.
The big concern comes in the form of Robert Nkemdiche, who did not practice, and Bruce Arians made it sounds like if he isn’t available today for practice he won’t play:
Arians is hopeful that Nkemdiche will practice tomorrow. That would give him a chance of playing on Sunday.
— Kent Somers (@kentsomers) September 6, 2017
The Cardinals need Nkemdiche on the field if they are going to reach the level of play we all expect them to.
He will be the closest in terms of ability and production to matching what Calais Campbell was able to do along the interior of the defense from a pass rush standpoint.
While it is only one game, you want to get off to a fast start if you are the Cardinals. Down Bucannon, you don’t want to see Nkemdiche joining him on the sideline.
For the Lions, the big one is Ezekiel Ansah getting back at it. The Lions and their fanbase are wary of the pass rush, so getting Ansah back, who had 14.5 sacks two years ago, and healthy will be big for them.
Here’s to Nkemdiche being ready for Sunday.