Cardinals' Rookie Class Injured; Fans Dubs Team 'The Cursedinals

The Arizona Cardinals are trying to rebuild again, bringing in a new head coach and stacking up on promising draft picks. Their roster reconstruction has gone sideways mere weeks into training camp because their top four rookies are all injured. The first round pick is hurt. The second round pick is out for the season. The third round pick is injured. And the fourth round pick will miss this year entirely.

The Cardinals had seven selections in the April NFL draft, and a majority of them are currently unable to play. This situation has earned them a grim nickname among fans: The Cursedinals. The latest bad news involves running back Jeremiyah Love, the third player taken in the first round. He is out indefinitely with an ankle injury that is far more than just a tweak.

Love is likely to miss the rest of the preseason, and his availability for the start of the regular season remains in serious question. This comes hours after head coach Mike LaFleur announced that guard Chase Bisontis, the team's second round pick, is going to miss the entire season. LaFleur told reporters over the weekend that Bisontis would be placed on the Injured Reserve list. By NFL rules, this designation means he is automatically out for the whole year when applied during the preseason.

Bisontis suffered an MCL injury in his left knee in last Thursday's preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders. He will require surgery to fix it. LaFleur said of the situation, "He will be out for a good amount of time, if not the whole year," adding that he always thinks about the player first and hates seeing them hurt. The sucking stops there for Bisontis, but the misery continues elsewhere on the roster.

Quarterback Carson Beck, the team's third-round pick, had a good preseason debut in the Hall of Fame game two weeks ago. He completed 15 of 19 passes with a touchdown pass, suggesting he should be included in the competition for the starting quarterback job. But that was not to happen. Beck injured his ribs in that game and has not practiced since. He missed the preseason game against the Raiders as well.

LaFleur has been coy about giving the exact status of the injury, refusing to say if there was a fracture or ligament damage. He offered only that Beck has experienced soreness. That soreness has left Beck's status uncertain for practice this week and Saturday's preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys. Then there is fourth-round pick Kaleb Proctor, who was placed on preseason IR the first day the club reported for training camp on July 22.

Proctor injured a knee during an Organized Team Activity session in June. He reportedly tore his meniscus and has required surgery. So Proctor is also out for the year. The only bit of encouraging news out of all this is that Love and Beck are expected to return at some point. Love suffered a mild high ankle sprain, per Dr. David Chao, OutKick's medical expert and founder of Sports Injury Central.

Dr. Chao said there is hope Love can be ready for Week 1 of the regular season, but that is to be determined. The problem with ankle sprains is that coming back too early often leads to re-aggravating the weakened ankle, making the situation worse. This pandemic of injuries to the rookie class is not normal. The Cardinals are the only NFL team managing injuries to more than half their draft picks.

It feels almost as if they are cursed.