Greg Dortch was the feel-good story of Cardinals training camp and the beginning of the regular season when Rondale Moore was sidelined by a hamstring injury.
Now, with the return of Moore, Dortch can’t buy a snap. He played two (3 percent) against the Eagles in Week 5 and then only four (6 percent) Sunday against Seattle. Heck, even Javon Wims was on the field for more with five (7 percent).
Some of those might have been on the last three snaps of the game after Hollywood Brown was injured. To that point, Brown had played every snap, while Moore missed only one. Last week, Moore played all but six snaps.
Now, the Cardinals are expected to be without Brown for at least six weeks because of a foot injury. The question heading to Thursday on a short week is how many snaps DeAndre Hopkins will be able to play and if Robbie Anderson, acquired Monday in a trade from Carolina, has a realistic chance of contributing.
Coach Kliff Kingsbury said Monday, “We’ll get him in and see what we can fit in, once again, without getting on the grass and actually going full speed. We want to make sure that he’s confident when he is out there, so if he does play it would be a limited package.”
As for Hopkins, when asked if he will be on a snap count, Kingsbury said, “He says not, so we’ll see. We’ll see how he’s going, but I know he’s anxious. He was up here today asking for the game plan and excited to get out there.”
It was announced that Hopkins had been activated, but
At running back, Eno Benjamin barely got a breather, playing 62 of the 71 offensive snaps with James Conner out. Rookie Keaontay Ingram played the other nine with Darrel Williams also out. Benjamin was on the estimated injury report Monday as limited with a foot injury. Kingsbury said he doesn’t expect Williams to be available Thursday and said Conner is “day-to-day,” while adding, “We’ll see if he can make it back by Thursday.”
For the second time in three games, left guard Justin Pugh departed early with an injury, this time to his knee and played only 22 snaps. Pugh played 13 snaps and exited after aggravating an elbow injury in Week 4 against Carolina.
It turns out Pugh suffered an ACL injury and will miss the rest of the season. Max Garcia has been his replacement, but it is hoped Cody Ford will return soon from reserve/injured. Ford was acquired in a trade with Buffalo on Aug. 22, but suffered an ankle injury in the Thursday practice before the season opener. That prompted the signing of Garcia. Ford has yet to be designated for return and was seen limping slightly in the locker room Friday.
Meanwhile, center Rodney Hudson hardly practiced in training camp and has been affected by a knee injury all season. He has missed two games, both losses. Last season, the Cardinals were 10-3 in games Hudson played and 2-3 when he didn’t.
Asked whether he might play Thursday, Kingsbury said, “I don’t know if it’s 50/50, but it’ll be close. He didn’t feel great Sunday when we got him out there, so we’ll see how he feels the next couple of days.”
On defense, linebacker Zaven Collins played every snap for the third consecutive game and fourth time this season. He had nine tackles (five solo) with two for loss, two sacks for 18 yards, two quarterback hits and a pass defensed.
Edge rusher Markus Golden played his most snaps of the season (81 percent) and notched his first sack. Golden also had eight tackles (four solo) with two for loss and added a quarterback hit.
Rookie edge rushers Cameron Thomas and Myjai Sanders didn’t play a lot, but made their presence felt. Thomas (nine snaps/13 percent) and Sanders (eight/12 percent) each had a sack and a tackle for loss.
Notable on special teams were the snaps not played in the field-goal game. Three times inside the 30-yard line (the 20, 27 and 23), Kingsbury opted to go for it on fourth down and each one failed.
Monday, kicker Matt Ammendola was waived after missing an extra point and Kingsbury claimed it wasn’t about losing faith in Ammendola.
“I wouldn’t say faith,” he said Monday. “I think it’s having faith in your offense more than anything. Matt Prater is one of the best in NFL history so that’s kind of a different level, but the opportunities we had offensively I thought were there. We weren’t able to make them at the time, but it was more that than any lack of faith. Like I said, it was Prater’s deal. We feel like he’s pretty much automatic and that’s a good luxury to have and when you don’t have it, it’s a little bit different.”
Prater hasn’t been ruled out for Thursday’s game and Kingsbury said “it’ll be close.” Still, a new kicker will have to be signed in case Prater isn’t ready. That could make it difficult to have the new arrival have enough time to get comfortable with long snapper Aaron Brewer and holder Any Lee.
Of kickers, Kingsbury said, “They’re a little different. They can still get some more kicking where we’re not going to be in pads practicing and things of that nature. We’ll definitely be looking to see how Matt progresses. That role is never easy. Those guys that come in on short notice and have to kick, but that’s part of the job requirement.”
However, it further muddles the decision not to sign a different kicker last week. That player would have had more time to become comfortable and be better prepared for this week, of needed.
Two players that did well with the main kickers injured were Cameron Dicker with the Eagles and Matthew Wright with Kansas City. Dicker was the NFC special-teams player of the week for his performance against the Cardinals in Week 5. Both teams had their regular kickers in Week 6, but as of Monday both remained on the practice squad.
Charting the snaps (snaps/percentage; starters in bold)
*Indicates player that did not play from scrimmage, but participated on special teams
OFFENSE (71 snaps, 16 players)
Quarterbacks: Kyler Murray (71/100)
Did not play: Colt McCoy. Inactive:Trace McSorley
Running backs: Eno Benjamin (62/87), Keaontay Ingram (9/13)
Did not play: *Corey Clement. Inactive: James Conner, Darrel Williams. Reserve/injured: Jonathan Ward (eligible to return)
Wide receivers: Rondale Moore (70/99), Marquise Brown (68/96), A.J. Green (49/69), Javon Wims (5/7), Greg Dortch (4/6)
Reserve/injured: Antoine Wesley (designated to return). Reserve/suspended: WR DeAndre Hopkins
Tight ends: Zach Ertz (68/96), Trey McBride (20/28)
Did not play: *Stephen Anderson
Offensive linemen: LT D.J. Humphries (71/100), C Sean Harlow (71/100), RG Will Hernandez (71/100), RT Kelvin Beachum (71/100), LG Max Garcia (49/69), LG Justin Pugh (22/31)
Did not play: T *Josh Jones, C Billy Price. Inactive: C Rodney Hudson (injured), C Lecitus Smith. Reserve/injured: G Cody Ford (eligible to return), G Marquis Hayes
DEFENSE (68 snaps, 24 players)
Defensive linemen: DE Zach Allen (57/84), DE J.J. Watt (53/78), NT Rashard Lawrence (27/40), DT Leki Fotu (18/26), DE Jonathan Ledbetter (15/22), DE Michael Dogbe (13/19)
Linebackers: ILB Zaven Collins (68/100), OLB Markus Golden (55/81), ILB Isaiah Simmons (43/63), OLB Victor Dimukeje (30/44), ILB Tanner Vallejo (22/32), ILB Ben Niemann (22/32), OLB Dennis Gardeck (11/16), OLB Cameron Thomas (9/13), OLB Myjai Sanders (8/12), OLB Jesse Luketa (4/6), ILB Ezekiel Turner (1/1)
Reserve/injured (eligible to return): ILB Nick Vigil
Defensive backs: CB Byron Murphy Jr. (68/100), S Budda Baker (68/100), S Jalen Thompson (68/100), CB Marco Wilson (60/88), CB Antonio Hamilton (19/28), S Chris Banjo (6/9), CB Christian Matthew (2/3)
Inactive: CB Trayvon Mullen Jr. (injured)
Reserve/injured: S Charles Washington (eligible to return)
SPECIAL TEAMS (25 snaps, 32 players)
LB Tanner Vallejo (24/92), S Chris Banjo (24/92), LB Ezekiel Turner (23/88), LB Victor Dimukeje (21/81), CB Antonio Hamilton (19/73), CB Christian Matthew (19/73), TE Stephen Anderson (18/69), RB Corey Clement (15/58), LB Ben Niemann (15/58), LB Dennis Gardeck (14/54), WR/RS Greg Dortch (12/46), TE Trey McBride (10/38), CB Marco Wilson (8/31), P Andy Lee (6/23), LS Aaron Brewer (6/23), K Matt Ammendola (5/19), DT Leki Fotu (5/19), DE Zach Allen (5/19), DE Michael Dogbe (5/19), DE Jonathan Ledbetter (5/19), LB Jesse Luketa (5/19), S Budda Baker (5/19), CB Byron Murphy Jr. (3/12), T D.J. Humphries (2/8), T Kelvin Beachum (2/8), G Will Hernandez (2/8), C Sean Harlow (2/8), G Max Garcia (2/8), T Josh Jones (2/8), G Justin Pugh (1/4), LB Cameron Thomas (1/4)
Inactive: K Matt Prater (injured)
Don’t hesitate to comment or ask questions on Twitter @hbalzer721 or email me: howard@gophnx.com
