The Arizona Cardinals have been without kicker Matt Prater since Week 4. He had a knee injury that initially didn’t seem like it was a big deal, but then he was placed on injured reserve.
It turns out that Prater needed surgery on his left knee to repair the meniscus, according to ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss. That is why he has been out so long.
The Cardinals hope he can return before the end of the season.
Head coach Jonathan Gannon was asked about a potential return from Prater on Wednesday. “I hope so. We’ll see how it goes,” he said. “He is getting better day by day. We’ll take it one day at a time and go from there.”
Since then, Chad Ryland has been kicking. After getting his first kick blocked in Week 5, he went on to make 13 in a row, but has since missed one in each of the last three games.
It sounds like a potential return would be closer to the end of the season or in the postseason, should the Cardinals get on track and qualify for the postseason.
Prater, 40 years old and set to be a free agent after the season, hopefully will get a final hurrah with the Cardinals before he likely moves on.
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