The Cardinals like what they’ve found in Andrew Wingard, and Mike LaFleur made it clear the safety has already blended in exactly the way Arizona hoped.
LaFleur said Wingard has been a major addition to the defense and pointed to how naturally he has paired with Budda Baker on the back end. “You want the right people first,” LaFleur said, via the team’s website.
“You can see their football character on their tape like whether they’re made of the right stuff or they’re not. … He’s a stud of a human.
He’s always been a good football player. I think he and Budda back there - the communication is just flawless.”
Wingard, meanwhile, is leaning into the outside skepticism about the Cardinals and using it as fuel. He said the national perception of the team has only sharpened his edge.
“ As far as everyone is concerned, we are this FCS, D2, NAIA team I guess,” Wingard says with sarcasm. “ I love the idea of all the guys around the league checking their ESPN app after their game and saying, ‘Damn, Cardinals beat the Chargers.’
I love that. There was a guy on ESPN giving his take and he said ‘I see the Chargers scoring 40 on this team.’
People love to watch NFL players on Sunday, wake up Monday and say, ‘This guy sucks.’ ‘This guy is terrible.’
I love to flip it around, ‘Terrible take, you suck, he should be fired.’ I love talking crap.
The best part for me, all that talk, all of that, makes me who I am. It makes me better.
That gets me further into my training, deeper into the process. ”
In Los Angeles, Sean McVay said Myles Garrett is moving around better after arthroscopic knee surgery, even if the Rams still aren’t ready to put a return date on the calendar.
McVay said Garrett was on crutches one day and walking without them the next, calling the pass rusher “like Wolverine, healing fast.” Still, the coach stressed that the team will not force the issue.
“I’m reluctant to put a timeline on it. We know that he’s going to miss those four weeks at a minimum.
We’re not going to rush him back. We want to make sure he’s feeling good, he’s able to get on the practice field, do all the things that are necessary for him to perform at a level that he’s been accustomed to.
I’ll keep you guys posted as we have updates, as we go.”
Seattle is taking the same measured approach with Jadarian Price, but the early returns from Week 1 were encouraging enough to justify more work ahead.
The first-round running back played just 24 snaps in his debut, yet still finished with 10 carries for 52 yards and two catches. Brian Fleury said the limited usage was tied to the fact that Price didn’t play in the preseason and was stepping into “the very first NFL game, huge stage.”
But Seattle expects that to change quickly. “We were very deliberate about the reps that he was going to get, and how he was going to be used,” Fleury said, via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
“He didn’t play in the preseason. It was the very first NFL game, huge stage.
We wanted to be cautious in terms of his workload. He earned more reps moving forward, and we’ll continue to bring him along and develop him the right way.”
In Other News...
Seahawks Suddenly Face A Backfield Concern They Could Not Afford
The Seahawks had already been managing the usual churn that comes with the backfield, and then Jadarian Price went down late in the fourth quarter with a chest injury. Before leaving, the starting running back had handled the load the way Seattle needed him to, piling up 13 carries for 52 yards and adding one catch for 8 yards as the offense tried to stay balanced.
Prices return is now questionable, which leaves another layer of uncertainty around a position the Seahawks could least afford to see thinned out. Emanuel Wilson stepped in and gave Seattle a lift with nearly 80 yards from scrimmage, but the bigger concern is whether the team has to navigate the next stretch without its starter or wait and see how quickly he can get back on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Sam Darnold Recovery Gives Seahawks Fans Real Reason For Relief
Sam Darnolds Week 1 glute injury had the Seahawks bracing for a longer stretch without their new quarterback, but the early readout has been much better than expected. NFL Networks Ian Rapoport reported that Darnold is progressing quickly enough that he could be back on the practice field in the coming week, a notable step for a team that has already managed to keep winning in his absence.
Seattle has bought itself some breathing room with those victories, which makes the next few days especially important as the schedule starts to tighten up. A return as soon as Week 3 is still possible, though it sounds less likely than a more realistic target of Week 4, and the Seahawks will be watching closely to see how Darnold responds as he moves from rehab to football work. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Made A Statement And One Decision Still Demands Debate
The Seahawks 31-7 win over the Cardinals in Week 2 looked like the kind of complete performance that can settle a lot of early-season questions in one afternoon. Seattle got strong quarterback play from Drew Lock while Sam Darnold remained sidelined, and the defense did its part too, with Julian Love standing out in a game that tilted quickly and stayed that way. Even with all of that in place, the contest still featured one sequence that invited a closer look and kept the margin of victory from telling the whole story.
Brian Fleurys failed 4th-and-goal call was the sort of decision that can linger after a lopsided win, because it sat right beside so many encouraging signs for Seattle. The larger picture was positive, especially with Jaxon Smith-Njigba continuing to be viewed through the lens of how former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron handled his development, but the Seahawks also left the field with at least one call that will keep the discussion going long after the final score has faded. [Read more 🡒]