Kliff Kingsbury is staying with the bye week plan he's had since arriving as Cardinals coach, but in a year when the bye comes later than ever and the Cardinals having used an NFL-high 77 players this season, the time off makes sense.
The Cardinals won't have a game on Dec. 4. The latest bye date the Cardinals have had previously was Dec. 1, 1991, only the second year the NFL used the bye system.
There will be no practice until next week when the Cardinals prepare for the New England Patriots Dec. 12 on "Monday Night Football" at State Farm Stadium.
"We'll study the film, clean some things up, have a mandatory zoom meeting and then the players will be off," the coach said.
While getting much-needed rest, players will be on programs designed to keep them in shape. The coaches also plan to take advantage of the break before preparing for Week 13.
"We'll take a couple of days and then get onto New England and see how we can finish this thing strong," he said.
The season has not gone the way the Cardinals had hoped, and after suffering a disheartening home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, the team dropped to 4-8 on the year. Sitting outside the playoff picture with just five games remaining on the schedule, the Cardinals are 12th in the NFC and in third place in the NFC West.
The hope of making the postseason is technically still possible, but the Cardinals must win out and get help. It helps to have star receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Marquise Brown on the field together to complete the mission.
"The light is still on, it's very, very dim," offensive lineman Kelvin Beachum added. "But we have our opportunity to come out of the bye, get healthy. Find a way to put a couple of games together and try to close out the year the right way."
Kingsbury said left tackle D.J. Humphries, who went on Injured Reserve on Saturday with a back injury, is done for the season. The hope is that surgery isn't necessary.
Kingsbury did say the team hopes to get back guard Will Hernandez or center Rodney Hudson at some point. Both Hernandez and Hudson have to miss at least one more game at the minimum before they could come back.
"It's just all about trying to get better at this point," Kingsbury said. "I still think our best football is in front of us. We've got to rest, recover, and go from there."
ROSTER MOVE
The Cardinals released wide receiver Andre Baccellia on Monday. He remains a candidate to return to the practice squad after making a catch on his lone offensive play Sunday. His release would indicate optimism of the return of Rondale Moore (groin) or Greg Dortch (thumb) -- or both -- after the bye.
