Concussions Knock Out Multiple Cardinals vs Saints

The Arizona Cardinals have ruled out both LB Cody Simon and S Joey Blount for the remainder of their Week 1 contest against the New Orleans Saints, according to the CBS broadcast.

In the second quarter, both players were spotted down on the field after coverage on a kickoff following the Cardinals' late score with just 28 seconds remaining.

Now, Arizona will be without two of their defensive depth pieces/special teams guys the rest of the way.

More on Cody Simon/Joey Blount

Simon was the team's fourth-round pick out of Ohio State, and the inside linebacker was potentially competing for a starting spot immediately out of training camp before veteran Akeem Davis-Gaither won the role.

“As a linebacker you need to have great instincts, and I think that's my biggest strength," Simon said after being drafted.

"Having great instincts and being able to tackle well. Being a great leader and communicator is vital for a good defense. If your middle linebacker can have that, you can have a good middle linebacker.”

Blount - voted as a team captain - has been a key rotational piece for the Cardinals the last few seasons, and has earned the respect of the coaching staff thanks to his versatility.

Both made Arizona's initial 53 man roster.

Owen Pappoe likely will take over for any of Simon's responsibilities while Kitan Crawford will do the same for Blount.

Cardinals Were Excited to Play Saints This Week

“I have a high opinion of Kellen. If you go back and look at my track record against him, it's not good, truthfully," head coach Jonathan Gannon said of Saints HC Kellen Moore.

"He's always had really good offenses. He's very creative. It makes it really hard on a defense how he calls the game. He's been (to) a couple different stops and his offense is played in a way that's hard to defend. It really is, and not just because he's got good players. Take that out of it. Schematically, he's hard to defend. The pace that he plays with is hard to defend. It puts you on your heels. He's always been ahead of me, so we got our work cut out for it. Now I'm not calling the game, so it's a little bit different, but I've got a high opinion of Kellen.”

Gannon also said he was looking forward to the team's New Orleans trip.

“It’s fun. I always say (in) coaching, the best part of the job is right now. A lot of people might say it's not. I think they're in the wrong business if they don't think that. Games are fun, man. You get to get measured. You see the week of prep, how well did you do it, and then you get to learn from it and move on. Whether you win or lose, you have to learn from that and move on. This is the fun part. Juices will be flowing.”

Latest Arizona Cardinals News