It may be a dead spot in the NFL calendar for many people, but there’s no vacation from rehabbing from a torn ACL if you want to be ready in time for the regular season.
Cardinals safety Tyrann Mathieu is in that latter group and he provided the Cardinals website with an update about his condition a few weeks ahead of the start of training camp. Mathieu said that he is running at about 60 or 70 percent and that he’s begun to do some cutting as part of his workouts. Cardinals assistant athletic trainer Chad Cook said that Mathieu is “close” to being cleared for football activities, although there’s no timeline for when that clearance is expected to come.
Mathieu hopes to be ready for at least individual drills when camp opens, which would allow him to end the frustrating process of watching his teammates go through their paces.
“It’s like when you are in elementary school and you wait all day for recess,” Mathieu said. “But you had been bad that morning and then teacher says you can’t play with the rest of the kids.”
Mathieu may be itching to get out and play, but a stay on the PUP list would not be surprising for a player who is seven months removed from his knee injury. Whether or not it stretches into the regular season will be a question best left for August.