The Arizona Cardinals have now suffered a serious injury to a key player in training camp. second-year outside linebacker BJ Ojulari, who left practice on Friday with an injury, will not play in 2024.
According to NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe, Ojulari has torn the ACL in his left knee. That will end his season even before it begins.
Ojulari was expected to be the Cardinals’ best pass rusher off the edge. He was one of the team’s standouts in camp and offseason work.
He was a second-round pick last year out of LSU and was productive in the second half of the season. He finished the season with four sacks, 40 total tackles, five tackles for loss and six quarterback hits. All but six combined tackles came starting in Week 8.
The injury opens the door for another linebacker to earn a spot in the starting lineup. Ojulari was projected to start with Zaven Collins. Now Dennis Gardeck, Cameron Thomas, Victor Dimukeje, Tyreke Smith or rookie Xavier Thomas have the opportunity to increase their role.
The Cardinals can also look outside the organization for help at the position.
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