Darius Robinson was a first-round pick for the Cardinals, and in training camp he showed it.

He played well in 10 snaps in the preseason opener, and then was sat down by coach Jonathan Gannon last week against the Colts and was unlikely to play in the preseason finale Sunday. His practices remained excellent.

But Robinson hurt his calf Thursday at practice, and coach Jonathan Gannon said he will have imaging Friday to determine the extent of any damage.

The Cardinals have already lost outside linebacker BJ Ojulari for the season during a training camp practice with a knee injury.

The Cardinals are deep on the defensive line. They still have free-agent signees Justin Jones, Bilal Nichols and Khyiris Tonga, along with holdovers Roy Lopez, Dante Stills, and L.J. Collier. Robinson is a player trending to make a difference in his first NFL season.

"The dude is a freak," Collier said of Robinson.

"I feel like the kid's going to ball this year," Collier added. "Arguably might be Defensive Rookie of the Year if he stays on the track that I think he's going to be on."

Rule changes to Injured Reserve this season could help if Robinson needs time to recover. Previously any player that wanted to return during the season but needed to go on IR had to be on a team's initial 53-man roster and hold a spot before a team could move him to IR. Now, a team can place up to two players on IR at final cutdown and still be allowed to bring him back during the regular season.