The Cardinals have placed 27-year old RT Brandon Keith on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a injured right ankle.  Keith played in 13 games (11 starts) for the Cardinals last year.  He has now played in 26 games (20 starts) in his first four years with the Cardinals.  Keith will be replaced in the starting lineup by 31-year old Jeremy Bridges.  Bridges has played in 15 games (4 starts) for the Cardinals so far this year.  Keith didn’t play too well this year, so Bridges might actually be an improvement for the Cardinals.

27-year old QB Kevin Kolb has passed all of his concussion tests and he has returned to practice.  He should be good to go this weekend against the Browns.  Kolb has played in 9 games so far this year and he has completed 146 of 253 passes (57.7%) for 1,955 yards with 9 TD passes and 8 INTs (81.1 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 17 times for 65 yards (3.8 ypc) so far this year.  23-year old John Skelton should make sure that he’s ready to go, just in case.  He has played in 5 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he has completed 78 of 145 passes (53.8%) for 1,032 yards with 7 TD passes and 9 INTs (66.8 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 17 times for 96 yards (5.6 ypc) so far this year.

The Cardinals have lost 24-year old NT Dan Williams for the rest of the season due to a fractured left arm.  Williams played in 10 games for the Cardinals this year and he had 20 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 tackle for a loss.  He has now played in 25 games in his first two years with the Cardinals and he has 58 tackles, 4 passes defensed and 2 tackles for a loss.  The Cardinals’ run defense is going to miss Williams.

34-year old outside linebacker Joey Porter will miss the next 2-4 weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery last week.  Porter has played in 6 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he has 16 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 sack.  He has now played in 20 games in his first two years with the Cardinals and he has 66 tackles, 6 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 4 fumble recoveries.  Porter is on the downside of his career, so he might become a backup player when he gets healthy.

UPDATE:  (12/22/2011) – The Cardinals have placed Joey Porter on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season.

Starting QB Kevin Kolb is doubtful for this Sunday’s game against the Rams due to toe and foot injuries.  Kolb has played in 7 games (all starts) for the Cardinals so far this year and he has completed 129 of 227 passes (56.8%) for 1,706 yards with 8 TD passes and 8 INTs (77.8 QB Rating).  Kolb has also carried the ball 14 times for 45 yards (3.2 ypc) so far this year.  23-year old John Skelton will start this weekend’s game against the Rams.  He played in 5 games (4 starts) for the Cardinals last year as a rookie and he completed 60 of 126 passes (47.6%) for 662 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs (62.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 10 times for 49 yards (4.9 ypc) last year.  Despite Skelton’s sub par numbers last year, the Cardinals were still 2-2 when he started under center.

The Cardinals will likely be without starting RB Beanie Wells for 1-2 weeks due to a bone bruise in his right knee.  Wells has played in five games so far this year for the Cardinals and he has carried the ball 91 times for 423 yards (4.6 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  He also has caught 4 passes for 12 yards (3.0 avg) in this game.  The Cardinals hope that Alfonso Smith steps up while Wells is out of action.  Smith has played in 5 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he has carried the ball 25 times for 89 yards (3.6 ypc) with 1 TD carry.  He has also caught 3 passes for 21 yards (7.0 avg) in 2011.  The Cardinals hope that Wells’ returns soon.

The Cardinals have released 37-year old punter Ben Graham.  Graham played in 1 game for the Cardinals and he punted the ball 5 times for 212 yards (42.4 avg).  He pinned the opposition inside their 20-yard line 2 times (40%) and he didn’t have any touchbacks.  Starting punter Dave Zastudil is ready to return to action and that’s why Graham was let go.

29-year old starting free safety Kerry Rhodes is going to miss multiple weeks due to a broken left foot.  Rhodes has played in 5 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he has 24 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 sack.  25-year old Rashad Johnson will get the first shot to replace Rhodes in the starting lineup.  He has played in all five games for the Cardinals so far this year and he has 8 tackles and a fumble recovery.  He has now played in 31 games in his first three years with the Cardinals and he has 71 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 7 passes defensed and 1 interception.  The Cardinals hope that Johnson really steps up while Rhodes is on the shelf.

The Arizona Cardinals really missed 23-year old RB Beanie Wells who sat out the game to nurse a groin injury.  He says that he will be ready to return against the Giants this weekend and the Cardinals need him badly.  Wells played in the first two games for the Cardinals this year and he carried the ball 32 times for 183 yards (5.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also has caught 4 passes for 12 yards (3.0 avg) so far this year.  24-year old Alfonso Smith and 32-year old Chester Taylor are a huge dropoff from Beanie Wells.  Smith has played in 2 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he has carried the ball 17 times for 54 yards (3.2 ypc) and he has caught 3 passes for 21 yards (7.0 avg).  Chester Taylor has played in 1 game so far this year for the Cardinals and he has carried the ball 9 times for 20 yards (2.2 ypc) and he has also caught 1 pass for 12 yards.  The Cardinals really need Wells back this weekend against the Giants, to help give the offense some balance.

The Cardinals have placed 24-year old cornerback Crezdon Butler on the Injured Reserve List ending his season due to an ankle injury.  Butler played in 1 game for the Cardinals this year and he didn’t have any tackles.  Butler has now played in 5 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 1 whole tackle.  The Cardinals should be o.k. without Butler.