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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Cardinals place rookie DL Zach Allen on IR

He had not played since Week 4 with a neck injury.

The Arizona Cardinals have been without rookie defensive lineman Zach Allen for the last six weeks of the season. The team announced Wednesday he was placed on injured reserve, which will end his season.

To replace him on the roster, they elevated undrafted rookie defensive lineman Miles Brown.

It was a move the Cardinals were trying to avoid. According to Kliff Kingsbury, it is something the organization had discussed.

“The big thing with Zach is the reps are so valuable as a rookie,” he said on Monday. “With our bye week coming up, we’ve kind of targeted that for a while that hopefully that could be a point to get him back for the last five and get those valuable reps.”

Now Allen won’t be able to even practice.

He has not played since appearing in three snaps in Week 4 when he suffered a stinger. At some point, he had a setback and has not practiced in weeks.

What is unknown is why the decision was made to do it now. The first injury report of Week 11 was not out at the time of publishing, so it is not known if the team was going to short on players on the defensive line. Clinton McDonald was placed on IR last week and Rodney Gunter had his leg looked at during the game on Sunday, although he finished the game.

Allen began the season as a starter after getting drafted in the third round of the draft this year. He appeared in four games and finishes the season with eight tackles, one for loss and three QB hits.

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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