J.J. Watt left his mark both on and off the field after coming to the Cardinals this year.
But his impact, on the field at least, is over, after the Cards finally placed the defensive lineman on injured reserve on Saturday with his shoulder injury.
His place on the roster will be taken by center Rodney Hudson, who was activated from injured reserve and will be available to start against Sunday.
Coach Kliff Kingsbury said on Friday he didn't want to comment on Watt's surgery situation, but added that Watt was "back in town." He had said after the Packers' game Watt was to have surgery this week.
Joining Watt on IR Saturday was defensive lineman Rashard Lawrence, who suffered a setback with his calf injury in practice this week. Filling his spot on the 53-man roster is tight end David Wells, who was promoted from the practice squad.
Lawrence must miss a minimum of three games, putting him out until at least after the bye -- Dec. 5 at Chicago.
The Cardinals brought up some practice squad players as well Saturday. Defensive lineman Josh Mauro and linebacker Joe Walker will be the Covid replacements, with wide receiver A.J. Green and tight end Demetrius Harris on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. Wide receiver Greg Dortch and cornerback Kevin Peterson were standard elevations.
Watt not only dislocated his shoulder, but NFL Network reported he also tore his labrum, bicep and rotator cuff. Before getting hurt, Watt had 16 tackles, five for loss, a sack and two passes defensed. He was rated as one of the top interior defensive linemen in both pass rush and run defense.
In his absence, the Cardinals will lean on fellow veterans Jordan Phillips and Corey Peters, along with young linemen Zach Allen, Leki Fotu, and Michael Dogbe, as well as Mauro.
