.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
TEMPE, Ariz. – Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said running back Ryan Williams will take another day off on Thursday to rest his right knee, which experienced a flare-up on Sunday. Williams was originally expected to return Thursday, but the knee apparently hasn’t responded to treatment as well as the team had hoped.
The knee is the same one in which Williams suffered a torn patellar tendon during the preseason of his rookie year, forcing him to miss the entire season. He also had the knee cleaned out in January.
Williams hasn’t been able to escape the injury bug in his three seasons in Arizona. He played just five games last year before a shoulder injury shelved him for the remainder of the season. Arians agreed recently when a reporter asked if this is a make-or-break season for Williams.
“I would think so,” Arians said.
Williams echoed those sentiments.
“If I can’t prove that I can stay healthy, then I might not be here,” he said.
Nose tackle Dan Williams suffered some sort of leg injury during the first live tackling session on Thursday when his leg got rolled. He was taken off on a cart. There was no report on his injury because there was no media availability after Thursday's practice. We won't know more until Friday morning.The Cardinals indoor practice facility has a bubble over it, and construction crews are completing the final touches before the team can begin using it to escape the withering Arizona summer heat.
Cardinals spokesperson Mark Dalton said the facility is expected to be completed “in the next week or so.”
The facility won’t contain many bells and whistles. The simple premise is climate control, and that is just fine with the Cardinals’ players.
“It’s going to be awesome,” center Lyle Sendlein said.
Arians confirmed that the decision to insert recently signed tackle Eric Winston into the starting spot at right tackle earlier this week was part of an experiment to see which combinations work, but it does not signal that Winston has won the job.
“They’re all such close battles that they’ve got to be able to get in there with (quarterback) Carson (Palmer) and get their shot, too,” Arians said.
The hope, Arians said, is that the starting five will become clear before the team’s first preseason game but acknowledged that the competition might not allow for that.
The team returned to its Tempe complex for practice Thursday because there was a soccer match between Real Madrid and the L.A. Galaxy taking place at University of Phoenix Stadium, where the team has been holding its camp.
Arians liked the idea of practicing in the heat for a day.
“Just the mental side of it,” he said. “We want to get outside and get a little toughness working in the heat.”
The team also has NFL officials on hand for the next couple days to help players learn the new rules, pay heed to existing ones and get accustomed to playing in game-like settings.
The team has already gone over the new rules (during OTAs) but will use video to review with officials.
The team’s annual red-and-white practice on Saturday won’t
feature any tackling, Arians said. That’s a departure from the past when
the Cards had spirited goal-line sessions and some epic hits, but Dan Williams' injury Thursday underscored just how dangerous contact can be during camp.
Arians said tight end Jeff King (knee) is “a couple days away” and tight end Kory Sperry (ankle) “keep our fingers crossed, might be a week.”
Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter
