Antonio Cromartie feels ‘fortunate’ that playing Thursday is even a possibility
Dec 10, 2014, 9:37 PM | Updated: 9:38 pm
TEMPE, Ariz. — The fact that it’s possible Antonio Cromartie will play for the Arizona Cardinals Thursday in St. Louis is…well…let’s allow head coach Bruce Arians, who was asked if that’s remarkable, sum it up.
“Yeah, after what I thought was a season-ending injury going out on the field last week,” he said. “So yeah, I think somebody smiled over his shoulder, for sure.”
The injury happened in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 17-14 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Following a play, Cromartie fell to the ground and, after a few minutes, walked off the field with the help of trainers. From there he was carted to the locker room, and not long after that it was announced in the University of Phoenix Stadium press box that he had suffered some sort of Achilles injury, which would likely sideline him for the rest of the season as well as much of the offseason.
However, after the game Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said Cromartie’s Achilles was fine, and Monday it was revealed that the cornerback had hurt his ankle. His status for Thursday’s game was clearly in doubt, though after missing practice Monday, Cromartie did a little more on both Tuesday and Wednesday. He’s officially listed as “questionable” for Thursday night.
Cromartie said he’s been rehabbing his ankle over the last few days, doing whatever the training staff has asked him to. He’s not sure how limited he would be in a game situation because the Cardinals have not really gone full speed in practice this week, limiting him to mostly running and jogging.
When asked if he could play Wednesday night if he had to, Cromartie said he was not sure. The same would apply to Thursday, as he won’t know his status until a decision has to be made.
“It’s a possibility,” he said of being ready to go. “I mean, we’ve just got to see how it feels going through the warmups and going from there.”
But whether Cromartie plays Thursday or not, the important thing is he did not become the latest Arizona Cardinal to hit injured reserve, which was the original fear.
“Man, that was like ‘this can’t be happening’, to be honest with you,” he said of his thoughts when he originally went down and thought it was an Achilles injury. “But I’m fortunate and blessed right now to not have that serious of an injury.
“So I mean, I’m definitely thankful and thank my Lord and Savior for that.”
