Quarterback Kevin Kolb sat out practice Wednesday and is day-to-day after hurting his toe in Baltimore last weekend.
Kevin Kolb remembered the first time he had ever heard of a turf toe injury. Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders was suffering from one, and a young Kolb didn't understand what it meant.
"I was saying the same thing as a fan when I was a kid: 'What? Why is he out for two weeks with a turf toe?' " Kolb recalled. "Then you get one and you realize it's a little more painful than it comes across (with the name)."
The walking boot was absent for Kolb Wednesday, even though he didn't practice because of his own turf toe. Asked what that meant, Kolb smiled and said, "Progress." That very painful toe will keep Kolb as a day-to-day proposition and an unknown for Sunday's game against St. Louis.
While pain tolerance will be considered for Kolb to play, more importantly will be Kolb's ability to throw passes with the injury.
"Being that it's my right foot, a lot of power comes from that," Kolb said. "You just don't want to get out there and have the ball start sailing and doing things it wouldn't have normally done."
If Kolb can't play, backup John Skelton will get the start.
"Those four games (I started) last year were invaluable," Skelton said. "As the backup, you get the mental reps and not necessarily the physical reps. … I am going to prepare like the starter, but I do that every week anyway."
The Rams' starting quarterback, Sam Bradford, is in a similar situation. Battling a high-ankle sprain, Bradford has missed the last two games and is "day-to-day," coach Steve Spagnuolo said, going into the Cardinals' game. Bradford did not practice Wednesday.
"He's out of his boot and he did some stretching and strengthening exercises (Tuesday)," Spagnuolo said. "We'll just see where we are (Thursday). We'd like to try and chip away and get him back, but we're not really sure when that's going to be."
BEANIE IS "OK", HEAP STILL LIMITED
Running back Beanie Wells sat out practice Wednesday, but Whisenhunt said his starter was "OK" after playing through his knee injury in Baltimore and gutting out 22 carries.
"He is going to be in this cycle where he works back into shape for the game every week," Whisenhunt said. "He is really a tough sucker to play on his knee like he did and give us that effort.
"He's going to have soreness. He's going to be limited or work though things earlier in the week. That's probably going to be the routine for the next couple of weeks. As long as he is playing the way he is playing and we can get him out there on Sundays, that is what is really important."
Wells didn't practice a week ago Wednesday but slowly did more and more before the game Sunday.
Besides Kolb and Wells, the Cards had tight end Rob Housler (groin), fullback Anthony Sherman (ankle) and safety Kerry Rhodes (foot) sitting out. Five players were limited: running back LaRod Stephens-Howling (shoulder), linebacker Joey Porter (knee), tight end Jim Dray (pectoral), tight end Todd Heap (hamstring) and defensive tackle Nick Eason (Achilles).
MAUI'A RETURNS
Fullback Reagan Maui'a returned to the Cardinals Tuesday after Sherman injured his ankle in Baltimore. Maui'a, who was the team's fullback almost all of 2010, was with the team in training camp but was cut in favor of Sherman. It was later discovered Maui'a was to be suspended the first three games of this season for violating the league's substance abuse policy.
The ban was because of alcohol. Maui'a said wasn't sure it if it affected his status as a free agent. "I accepted (the suspension), learned from it, and it is time to move forward and be a better person," Maui'a said.
He said at the time, he didn't know the suspension was coming. The suspension was served even though Maui'a wasn't on a roster. He said he has changed his life, and was quietly ecstatic to be back in the NFL.
"It feels better than good," Maui'a said. "It's truly a blessing to come back and participate. I just want to do my job and help the team. It feels great to get the reps again."
