The Arizona Cardinals are 3-6-0, and the number says plenty about where this season stands. They’ve already matched last year’s win total, but the bigger story has been the damage done by injuries. This weekend, the offense is set to go with its third quarterback.
That’s the reality hanging over a roster that looked promising before the season and now feels like it’s constantly patching holes. The list of players dealing with injuries is long, and it cuts across the roster: OT Paris Johnson, WRs Michael Wilson, Kendrick Bourne, and Jalen Brooks, OG Chase Bisontis, QB Gardner Minshew, CB Will Johnson and S Joey Blount, RBs Jeremiyah Love and James Conner, plus DL Kaleb Proctor and Zachary Carter. Fifteen players in all.
Former Cardinals receiver Frank Sanders, who played eight seasons in Arizona, recently weighed in on the state of the team in an interview with Cardinals Insider Kyle Odegard. When Odegard asked whether head coach Mike LaFleur might be overwhelmed in his first head-coaching job, Sanders came out strongly in support.
“I love what he’s doing. I love how he’s handling the program, especially considering it’s not one of the easiest programs to run in the National Football League.
For a coach coming in that did not bring anybody in, he’s picked up a lot of pieces that were not his pieces. I think he’s done a wonderful job.”
Sanders also pointed to the demands LaFleur faces beyond just the offense, noting that he has to keep the defense and special teams lined up every week too. He praised the coach’s approach and said the roster itself is part of the issue.
“His attitude is on point, his play-calling is solid. I like what he’s doing. Sometimes we just don’t have the athletes to compete.”
That’s where Sanders sees the biggest problem: not necessarily the coaching, but the sheer amount of attrition. The Cardinals may have enough talent on paper, but so many of those pieces are unavailable that the team keeps losing ground.
Odegard also asked Sanders about the quarterback situation after the team moved on from starter Jacoby Brissett and turned to rookie Carson Beck. Sanders didn’t sound alarmed by the change.
“I think (Brissett) will do a wonderful job. You just need players around him.
Jacoby doesn’t need a whole bunch of help, but he needs some help. He’s in a solid organization.
”
On Beck, Sanders stressed that the bigger need is stability and depth at the position rather than forcing a quick evaluation.
“(A team) still needs depth at quarterback. You still need healthy competition.
And you need somebody you can rest your hat on. You need some form of stability in that area.”
He also pushed back on the idea that the Cardinals must play Beck extensively just to figure out whether he’s the future.
“Winning is the most important part, and (developing) the offense is just as important. For me to be worried about Carson playing?
No. I don’t have to see him for another two or three years if Gardner can be that guy.
If he can’t? Then we have to make a decision.”
Sanders said he would stick with Minshew if he’s able to handle the job.
“If Gardner Minshew can play okay. I don’t want to see (Beck). I just want to see someone who can get the job done.”
For Sanders, the focus should stay on winning now while the offense settles into LaFleur’s system. He pointed to the offensive line needing time to come together, the return of key receivers and tight ends, and the defense getting more bodies back before the team can really be judged.
Sanders was a second-round pick by the Cardinals in the 1995 NFL Draft after earning First-Team All-American and First-Team All-SEC honors at Auburn. He played nine NFL seasons, eight of them in Arizona, wearing No.
- In 136 games with 120 starts, he finished with 6,749 receiving yards, 24 touchdowns, and a 13.3-yard-per-reception average.
In 2013, he was inducted into the “SEC Football Legends.”
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