The Cardinals Man of the Year is now out for the year.
Defensive lineman Jonathan Ledbetter will miss the final two games of the season with the knee injury he suffered in Chicago, coach Jonathan Gannon said Tuesday, yet another blow to a defensive line that will end the year with its top four players all on IR. L.J. Collier, Carlos Watkins and Leki Fotu have all already been on the shelf.
In 12 games, Ledbetter finished with 46 tackles and 1.5 sacks. The Cardinals have rookie Dante Stills, Roy Lopez, Kevin Strong and Naquan Jones as the healthy defensive linemen on the roster, with Phil Hoskins, Ben Stille and Kendel Vickers available on the practice squad.
Taking on the Eagles -- who are battling for the top seed in the NFC -- on the road this week will make for a difficult matchup. The Cardinals, after allowing 250 yards rushing to the Bears, are last in the league in rushing defense at 147 yards a game.
"It's hard when guys roles are changing," Gannon said. "You have to find ways to play winning football. Saying that, I feel good about everyone we have in here, that's why practice squad is so huge. We look a lot different than Week 1 from one on to the eighth job but it's our job to get them ready to play."
Gannon also said the knee injury rookie cornerback Garrett Williams is dealing with is "the same body part but a little bit different" from the knee that had ACL repair. Gannon said Williams should be ready to play this week, but coming off the serious injury and then playing as much as Williams has, "there are going to be some residual effects."
