6 expected starters, key contributors on Cardinals D-line off 53-man roster

Basically an entire defensive line room has either landed on injured reserve or gotten cut.

From 2016-2018, the Arizona Cardinals were ravaged by injuries on the offensive line. That has changed this year, as only one position has really been affected by injuries.

However, the defensive line has been dealt a bad hand. Between injuries and disappointments, the Cardinals have lost six defensive linemen, all of whom were either projected starters or key contributors.

It started in training camp. Basically an entire roster of defensive linemen has been lost. As of now, the starters will be Corey Peters, Zach Kerr and Caraun Reid. Peters has been a rock. Kerr was signed off the street in October and Reid was signed last week, cut and re-signed on Tuesday.

Who are these missing pieces?

Darius Philon

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Philon was the biggest loss. He was one of their big free agent acquisitions. However, an arrest on assault charges led to his release in training camp. He was expected to be the best player on the line. It is hard to blame the Cardinals for this miss. He didn’t have a checkered past and it would have looked terrible to keep him on the roster.

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Rodney Gunter placed on IR; Cardinals re-sign DL Caraun Reid

Gunter is the fourth defensive lineman to end up on IR for the Cardinals this season.

The Arizona Cardinals have suffered another hit to their defensive line. Rodney Gunter, who injured his ankle on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, was placed on injured reserve, ending his season.

Gunter, who will be a free agent after the season, finishes the year with 31 total tackles, nine of which were for a loss, three sacks and 10 quarterback hits.

He joins fellow defensive linemen Zach Allen, Jonathan Bullard and Clinton McDonald on injured reserve.

With his loss, the starting defensive line will now likely be Corey Peters, Zach Kerr and Miles Brown or Michael Dogbe. That is a much different starting lineup than the one projected to be Gunter, Peters and Darius Philon.

To replace him on the roster, the Cardinals re-signed defensive lineman Caraun Reid. Reid was signed last week and released on Saturday when there were questions about the depth at cornerback.

Before initially signing with the team last week, Reid had not been in the league this year. This is his sixth NFL season and he has played for the Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Chargers and Dallas Cowboys. He has played in 44 career games, starting 13. He has 46 career tackles, 3.5 sacks, a forced fumble and two fumbles recoveries, both of which he returned for touchdowns.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

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Cardinals suffer a pair of ankle injuries in loss to Steelers

They appear to be the only injuries of note from the Cardinals’ loss to the Steelers.

The Arizona Cardinals lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday 23-17. They appear to have come out of the game fairly clean when it comes to injuries.

There were a pair of ankle injuries to note, though.

Defensive lineman Rodney Gunter left the game with an ankle injury. He did not return.

Starting right guard J.R. Sweezy apparently tweaked his ankle during the game. In the first half, he was replaced by Mason Cole. Sweezy started the second half and they basically rotated series in the second half.

Sweezy’s ankle injury did not show up on the injury report during the week so it had to have happened during the game. “We wanted to make sure guys were fresh and healthy and had a little bit of a rotation,” said Kliff Kingsbury after the game.

Kingsbury will address reporters Monday afternoon and might tell us more about the health of the team and the status of Gunter, but the first official injury report of the week will not come out until Wednesday.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

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