Mike Iupati to miss 3-8 weeks for knee surgery

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona Cardinals guard Mike Iupati will miss three-to-eight weeks due to arthroscopic knee surgery, according to RotoWorld.

Iupati noticed swelling in his knee on Wednesday and Coach Bruce Arians sent him to get it checked out.

Iupati was acquired over the offseason, when he inked a five-year, $40 million dollar deal back during free agency. 

He previously was the starting left guard on the San Francisco 49ers and was one of the first to leave San Francisco in what Yahoo! Sports called the worst offseason of all time. He will begin his tenure with the Cardinals this year.

The 28-year-old is a three-time Pro Bowler, so his absence will cost the Cardinals. On the other side of the offensive line, starting right tackle Ben Massie is suspended for the first three games of the season due to violating the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse. 

Now, the Cardinals must face the fact that almost half of their offensive line will be missing for the first three games of the season. 

The Cardinals will need someone to step up for the injured Iupati. They currently have guard Ted Larsen behind Iupati in the depth chart, so it is very likely we see him in Iupati’s place. 

Last season, Larsen played in all sixteen games for Arizona at the left guard. Larsen was originally battling for the center position with A.Q. Shipley. 

However, the Cardinals pulled the plug on that battle and brought back center Lyle Sendlein instead.

This injury does not come at a good time for the Cardinals. It seemed everybody was back and healthy and they were ready to march back into the playoffs. However, they will have to take a tougher path with harder obstacles in their path.