Cardinals free safety Budda Baker has undergone successful thumb surgery, coach Kliff Kingsbury said Wednesday, but it remains unclear how long he will be sidelined.

It would seem highly unlikely he will be able to play this Sunday when the Cardinals play at the Carolina Panthers, even though Kingsbury wouldn’t rule that completely out when asked if it was a possibility.

“We’re hoping it’s sooner rather than later,” Kingsbury said. “I don’t want to put any timetable on it just yet knowing Budda and the type of super human he is. You never know. But everything went well, so we’re excited about that.”

Baker, who became the highest-paid safety in the NFL after the Cardinals signed him to a four-year, $59 million contract extension just before the start of the season, suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.

The injury occurred during Arizona’s Week 2 victory over Washington and Baker was able to play this past Sunday against the Lions, wearing a protective cast on his hand.

The decision was made prior to the game that he would undergo surgery this week with the hope that he would only miss one week. It could be longer than that, however, and the Cardinals have other issues at safety, too, as starting strong safety Jalen Thompson (ankle) must stay on injured reserve for at least one more week and his replacement, Chris Banjo, is dealing with a hamstring injury that forced him out of the Detroit game.

Kingsbury said wide receiver Christian Kirk (groin) and center Mason Cole (hamstring) are getting better, adding, “We’re hoping they can get some work in today and then we’ll hopefully progress from there.”

Throwing to Fitz

Larry Fitzgerald finished with just one catch for no gain during Sunday’s 26-23 loss to the Lions and Kingsbury was asked if he’s talked with the veteran receiver about only being targeted three times in the game.

“He knows how I feel about him as a player,” Kingsbury said. “He knows that I’ve got to do a better job of getting him the football as well because he knows how he can impact the game. He’s the standard by which kind of all football players, in my opinion, can be judged with the way he handles himself on and off the field, his practice habits and the class with which he carries himself. All those things.

“He’ll have a prominent role moving forward; it was just a bad day of play calling by me that didn’t get him the ball.”

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Being vigilant

With multiple positive COVID-19 tests hitting the Tennessee Titans this week, which is forcing the postponement of their game this week against the Steelers, Kingsbury said the Cardinals have to make sure they follow all of their coronavirus protocols more intently than ever before.

“We talked about it yesterday in our team meeting and we’ve got to stay vigilant,” Kingsbury said. “This is an everyday deal. We cannot become lax at any point because the consequences can be pretty dire when you’re talking about cancelling games or not being able to practice, not being able to come to the facility. We just have to stay on top of it.

“It’s a day to day thing. We can’t miss a day.”

Mask up

In light of new COVID-19 concerns following the situation with the Titans, the NFL sent all teams a strict memo this week reminding all coaches and other team members on the sideline to always wear a mask or face covering during games. The memo, obtained by multiple media outlets, informed clubs that failing to do so could result in forfeiture of draft picks as well as suspensions.

A handful of coaches were identified not keeping their masks on during Sunday’s game and in a Wednesday report by TMZ, one of them was the Cardinals’ Kingsbury. If the NFL is serious about enforcing its mask-wearing policy, Kingsbury and the Cardinals could be facing some significant disciplinary actions.

Injury report

In addition to Baker and Banjo not practicing on Wednesday, receiver DeAndre Hopkins (ankle) and outside linebacker Devon Kennard (calf) also didn’t practice and four players were limited – Kirk, Cole, defensive end Zach Allen (knee) and outside linebacker Dennis Gardeck (foot).

Fitzgerald and defensive tackle Corey Peters were given a veteran’s day off.

For the Panthers, left tackle Russell Okung (groin) and defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos (illness) did not practice. Neither did defensive tackle Derrick Brown, although it was not injury-related. Listed as limited were safety Jeremy Chin (hip), guard Dennis Daley (ankle), cornerback Donte Jackson (toe), defensive tackle Kawann Short (foot) and linebacker Adarius Taylor (hip).

Have an opinion on the Arizona Cardinals? Reach McManaman at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac. Listen to him live on Fox Sports 910-AM every Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 on Calling All Sports with Roc and Manuch and every Wednesday night from 7-9 on The Freaks with Kenny and Crash.

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