Chase Bisontis, the Arizona Cardinals‘ second-round pick, could miss his entire rookie season.
Bisontis suffered a torn MCL in the Cardinals’ preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders, per NFL Network, and will undergo surgery.
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The timeline for a return from a surgically repaired MCL is typically at least three months, meaning that even in the best-case scenario, Bisontis wouldn’t return to the practice field until November. That would likely place his NFL debut in December.
As such, the Cardinals could opt to place Bisontis on injured reserve, ending his season. If they believe that he will return this year, they could place him on injured reserve on Aug. 30, when teams must trim their rosters to 53 players. On cut day, each team can place up to two players on injured reserve with a designation to return.
Still, Bisontis avoided the worst news, which would have included a torn ACL — an outcome that head coach Mike LaFleur said was a possibility immediately after the game. That would have ended his season entirely and increased the risk of complications that could have threatened his availability into 2027.
For the Cardinals, Bisontis’ torn MCL is the latest in a long string of injury blows to highly-drafted rookies. Darius Robinson and Walter Nolen each missed 11 games in their rookie seasons, while Kaleb Proctor — this year’s fourth-round pick — is out for the season with a torn meniscus.
It also comes amid a strong start to preseason for Bisontis, who had been among the Cardinals’ standouts in last week’s Hall of Fame game and against the Raiders. Isaac Seumalo and Isaiah Adams — the presumptive starters regardless — are now entrenched in their roles, while 2025 sixth-round pick Hayden Conner now has a clear pathway to the roster as a depth piece.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals rookie potentially out for season with injury
