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Hand Injury Derails Michael Floyd

Notes: Wide receiver expected to miss time; Catanzaro's expectations; A long injury list

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Cardinals wide receiver Michael Floyd looks at his hand after getting hurt in Wednesday's practice.


The injuries that have swept through the first few days of training camp claimed wide receiver Michael Floyd.

During a 1-on-1 drill during Wednesday's practice that had the wideouts facing off against the defensive backs, Floyd dove for a pass. He immediately jumped up and ran to the Cardinals locker room with a trainer in tow.

The Cardinals confirmed only that it was a left hand injury. Multiple reports have Floyd missing time after hurting his fingers, although the reported timeline has varied from as few as three to as many as six weeks. Floyd's availability for the

start of the regular season still could be in question. The Cardinals open Sept. 13 at home against the Saints. John Brown would be elevated to the No. 2 receiver spot in Floyd's absence. The team likely will not address the situation until coach Bruce Arians talks again Friday morning. The Cardinals are off Thursday.

"We are a resilient team," safety Rashad Johnson said. "You never like to see that happen to anybody but we have guys who can step in and play if Mike has to miss an extended period of time, but we're hoping that he doesn't."

Floyd had 47 receptions for 841 yards and six touchdowns last season. The wide receiver depth has been lauded during training camp, as backups Brittan Golden and J.J. Nelson turned heads with impressive practices early in camp. Jaron Brown had a spectacular one-handed catch on Tuesday which got Arians' attention.

Those three could see a larger role throughout the rest of training camp if Floyd is indeed sidelined.

"One thing B.A. says is that you have to be ready for anything," Jaron Brown said.

Backup guard John Fullington also suffered a potentially serious left knee injury, as he needed to be carted off after going down during a pass-rushing drill.

NEW SITUATION, SAME EXPECTATIONS FOR CATANZARO

Training camp is much different for kicker Chandler Catanzaro this year. He isn't battling anyone for the starting job after beating out Jay Feely as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2014. Catanzaro finished last year 29-of-33 on field goals,

including 17 consecutive makes to begin his career, which tied an NFL record. Arians said he expects Catanzaro to be "perfect" in 2015.

"Unless it goes beyond 54, I expect it to go in, because that's what he's capable of," Arians said.

There were a handful of times last season in which Arians eschewed his normally-aggressive nature by electing to punt rather than try a long field goal. He said some of that was because Catanzaro was a rookie, but it was mostly due to how well the defense was playing.

Catanzaro said he understood those decisions, but also has confidence in his kicks if Arians turns to him more at deep distances.

"Fifty-five and in, something like that," Catanzaro said. "I'm confident from 60, really, if given the shot before half or at the end of the game."

BAD EYESIGHT MIGHT BE BETTER FOR SIMS

It seemed like a cut-and-dried scenario for quarterback Phillip Sims this offseason. The Cardinals' doctors noticed his eyesight was poor, and recommended he get contacts or a procedure to improve his vision.

Sims didn’t want to do the surgery because it would have cost him two weeks of training, and he hasn't gotten contacts, so he's practicing with the same blurry eyesight he's always had. Arians isn't bothered because he's not sold it would help Sims as he battles for the third quarterback spot.

"I was one of those ones who was like, if we fix it, (expletive), he might see a lot of (expletive) he doesn't want to see – all those guys coming after him," Arians said. "Like he said, he's used to it, so maybe we'll fix it later."

INJURIES PILING UP

Arians busted out a piece of paper and rattled off injuries for the first time this training camp during his morning press conference, a sign of how long the list has become. Thirteen players didn't practice -- not including Floyd and Fullington -- although Arians said "a bunch could practice Friday."

Tackle D.J. Humphries was the most notable injury on Tuesday, as he hyperextended his knee on the turf early in Tuesday's practice and could miss up to a week.

Guard Earl Watford (ankle), tight end Ted Bolser (knee), tackle Rob Crisp (knee) and running back Marion Grice (hamstring) all left Tuesday's practice early. Thursday is an off day for the players.

With so many players out, it means more repetitions for the healthy ones, which could be a good or bad thing depending on how they perform.

"When you get all these opportunities, you either get exposed or exposure," Arians said.



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