Cardinals adjust again after losing a rookie OL with knee injury
· Yahoo Sports
For the fourth consecutive summer, the Arizona Cardinals have lost a drafted offensive lineman to a knee injury, with two for the entire season.
The latest is this year’s second-round choice, guard Chase Bisontis, who suffered a torn MCL in Thursday’s preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders. He was placed on injured reserve Saturday and won’t play this season.
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Last year, sixth-round center-guard Hayden Conner was injured in the team’s second preseason game and was placed on IR Aug. 26. He was activated on Nov. 29 and played five games.
In 2024, it was tackle Christian Jones, selected in the fifth round. He injured his knee in the preseason finale, spent the first chunk of the season on injured reserve and appeared in two games.
In 2023, fourth-round center/guard Jon Gaines II suffered a knee injury in the final preseason game and missed the entire season after going on IR Aug. 29.
Dr. David Chao (@profootballdoc), referring to Bisontis' injury, posted, "Good news that ACL spared. Bad news of MCL surgery. Rare to need isolated MCL surgery which means grade 3 (severe)." Grade 3 indicates means a complete tear with the possibility the ligament was pulled off the bone.
Head coach Mike LaFleur said Saturday, “It sucks for him. Always think about the player first. It sucks for the Cardinals obviously when you lose a player you know is a good player, but more importantly you just hate it for the player.”
Asked how Bisontis was handling the misfortune, LaFleur said, “He’s a stud just like how he plays. That's the person he is. So, he'll attack this thing and like I said to him yesterday when I called him, somehow, some way you're going to be better from this, because I just think he's made up of the right stuff to figure it out.”
LaFleur noted that center Hjalte Froholdt gave up his up-front seat to brace-wearing Bisontis for the short plane ride back to Arizona.
LaFleur said, “When Chase got on the plane the other day, wanted to make sure that Chase was up there in the front and so I kind of ran out of there and Fro had already given up his seat and Fro was in the back in Chase's seat where all the rookies sit. So, just a stud of a dude.”
When that was mentioned to Froholdt, he said, “I'm lucky enough to be able to have the privilege of sitting in the front. Some nice seats up there. So, try to help him out a little bit.”
While Bisontis was expected to be the starter at right guard at some point, Isaiah Adams has been with the first team throughout training camp and was with that unit for the 11 snaps in the opening drive against the Raiders that ended with a touchdown.
Asked how Adams has been looking, LaFleur said, “Solid, like he's looked to me ever since OTAs. I think every day he's just gotten a little bit better and that's shown since the pads got on when we were in Glendale. In those 11 snaps, I thought he played solid football. I think he's just been solid and steady.
“What's really stood out to me with him is he looks like he plays at his pace, which is a good thing. He doesn't look rushed and I think he looks solid and sturdy and he needs to continue to improve.”
Asked about Adams’ confidence level compared to last year and when he was a third-round pick in 2024, Froholdt said, “I've always known ‘Zay’ got it in him. So he's been balling out, playing really well. I think it's always hard. You kind of got to find your play style and what you are. I mean all across the board, all five of us, we play a little bit different, but as long as we're on the same page and understand where we're all going to be at.
“But I think he's kind of found his style and what he's doing. He’s marrying it and executing it and doing a hell of a job at it. So, he's been balling out this camp and I'm just stoked to see what he can do.”
The question now becomes what the backup interior group will be with Bisontis out. On the depth chart for the Raiders game, Conner was the second left guard behind Isaac Seumalo with Valentin Senn third. Gaines was the No. 2 center, while Oli Udoh was the third right guard behind Adams and Bisontis. Gaines can also play guard, while Conner can handle center. Tackle Matt Pryor can also play guard. Playing multiple positions is a job requirement for the backup linemen on the roster that will be reduced to 53 in two weeks (Aug. 30).
Of Conner and Gaines, LaFleur said, “They have played pretty good ball, whether it be in practice or these games. They're more than capable of stepping in.”
He added, “So we'll kind of mix and match some of those things in terms of worst-case scenarios. Inevitably someone's going to miss some time. It's football and so we'll start mixing and matching some of that this week. I have a lot of trust in (line coach Justin) Frye in terms of how he wants to disperse those reps and we'll kind of go from there.”
Froholdt has also been impressed by Gaines and Conner.
He said, “Ever since Jon came here and he’s another guy who got hurt his first year. Just always playing so well. It's kind of crazy to think he's in Year 4 already. But, great player, can play all three interior (spots), knows the playbook in and out. It's not a drop when he goes in there.
“And Hayden's taken a huge step from last year as well, playing really fast, playing good with his hands. I think he's still a bigger guy and he knows what his strengths are for that. But, playing more loose and can understand it. A lot of the time, especially for a lineman when you get in the league, it's like, first I need to adjust (the) speed, then I need to understand the playbook and know where the hell I'm going. And then once you've kind of figured that out, then you can start doing the little micro adjustments.
“And I think that's where some of those guys are at now where it's like, instead of my hand here, I want it here. And it's a simple adjustment, but it's fun to get to that point. It took me a while to get to that point in my career where I was like, ‘OK, now it's actually fun to learn about this again because I have the wherewithal and I'm comfortable enough with everything else that I can take that step in the small adjustments.’”
“And those two are doing a great job.”
Back to Bisontis, Froholdt recalled, “I went through it myself rookie year. Blew up my shoulder and had to sit out. So, it always sucks. I mean, it sucks when everybody gets hurt. It's hard when there's one in your room, especially a young guy like that. I mean, Chase was coming along so well. He was opening up. It takes a little while for young guys, (but) the personality was coming out a little bit. So, you're like, ‘All right, here we go. Come on. We're doing good.’
“(So), I’m gutted about it. It's part of the game. It's the worst part of the game. But he needs some time for himself to get through it and then he has a long time to get back on track and take it slow. I think sometimes you want to rush things back, but he has a whole year to come back and do as well as he needs to do it. So, worst thing you can do is force it and then have a setback. So, the main thing for some guys that are hurt, especially myself, was only good days.
“Even though you might feel slow and bored, but only good days. You don't want a bad day, at least early on. Of course, you want to push it. You need to push it at some point, but no bad days.”
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Cardinals adjust again after losing a rookie OL with knee injury