GLENDALE – It would be hard to have less luck than the Arizona Cardinals in the past 365 days. Arizona’s 3-14 2025 season had the most injuries to starters in the NFL by a wide margin. Regardless, almost the entire coaching staff was let go to allow in head coach Mike LaFleur, who has done a stellar job in preseason to inspire hope. However, the one thing that hasn’t improved is the injury luck.
The first four draft picks in the 2026 NFL draft for the Cardinals have suffered injuries, with two of them expected to miss their entire rookie season.
Aug 13, 2026; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back Jeremiyah Love (4) carries the ball against Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Taron Johnson (3) in the first half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Cardinals’ rookies with injury bug:
- RB Jeremiyah Love (Ankle)
- OL Chase Bisontis (MCL)
- QB Carson Beck (Ribs)
- DT Kaleb Proctor (Meniscus)
May 8, 2026; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Kaleb Proctor (94) during rookie minicamp at Dignity Health Arizona Cardinals Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Bisontis and Proctor are gone for the rest of the year, and Arizona is hoping Beck and Love’s ailments are short-term problems. Many experts and pundits questioned why Love had a massive 11-carries workload in his first preseason game vs. the Las Vegas Raiders. LaFleur answered those qualms by stating the rookie was hungry to get out there, and he wanted him to have real reps before the team’s season opener on Sept. 13th.
On Tuesday, the 39-year-old head coach mentioned that the players participating in Saturday’s preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys will be announced later in the week. LaFleur and his staff could be considering the risks of playing any starters given the recent injuries
Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur during a pre-draft news conference on April 16, 2026, at the Arizona Cardinals training center in Tempe. © Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Given the injuries to last year’s team as well, many would look for reasons to the surplus of these type of incidents. Is it the heat? The field? The training staff? Are the Cardinals curse? Or is it really all just bad luck? It would facetious to speculate the cause, but LaFleur will need to maneuver past these and play the next month carefully to have his best 53-man roster ready for the season opener.
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Reporter Tanner Tortorella covers general assignment for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @TannerTSports
