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The Cardinals have activated starting left guard Justin Pugh from the Reserve/COVID-19 list but they also placed starting defensive tackle Jordan Phillips on injured reserve, meaning he will miss at least the first three games of the regular season.
Players who are placed on IR are eligible to return after missing three weeks, if they are healthy and can contribute. In Phillips’ case, his availability is unknown.
Phillips missed virtually all of training camp with an undisclosed injury and then spent time on the Reserve/COVID-19 list before only recently being activated. Coach Kliff Kingsbury has mostly refused to get into any details about player injuries since the start of training camp.
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The first official injury report of the season won’t be made available until Wednesday.
Phillips, expected to be a force on the defensive line, missed seven games last year with a nagging hamstring injury that eventually landed him on injured reserve and ended his season. Second-year pro Leki Fotu is the primary backup behind Phillips on the depth chart.
Since the Cardinals presently don’t have a defensive tackle on the practice squad and depth at that specific position is now dangerously thin, expect the team to add a defensive tackle via free agency or the waiver wire.
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