The Arizona Cardinals dealt with a number of injuries to key players. Some missed time and others played through injuries they could. Defensive lineman Zach Allen, who emerged as a productive, disruptive force on the defensive line, played through an injury.
He had an ankle injury that limited him in practice over the Cardinals’ final three weeks of the season, including the playoffs. It was bad enough that he had offseason surgery on his ankle, he shared on his Twitter account.
Surgery was a success! All season, I was playing on a torn up ankle, but now that’s behind me. Can’t wait to get back for 2022 at 100%. God is Great! #RedSea
— Zach Allen (@TheZALLEN44) January 29, 2022
He said that his surgery was a success and that he was playing on “a torn-up ankle.”
Allen played the most defensive snaps among the defensive linemen this season and, even with the ankle injury, played in over 65% of the team’s defensive snaps in each game, including 95% of them in their Week 18 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Allen set career-highs in everything.
He played in 15 games. He had 48 tackles, five for loss, four sacks, 14 quarterback hits, three fumble recoveries, one he returned for a touchdown, one interception and four pass breakups.
If he puts a whole season together the way he played over the second half of last season when he had to fill in for J.J. Watt and have Watt play a full season, the Cardinals could have one of the most disruptive defensive lines in the league next year.
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