Arizona Cardinals announce rookie Tyrann Mathieu will start on Saturday

All it took was one game for rookie Tyrann Mathieu to make an impression on his coaching staff and the Arizona Cardinals. After safety Rashad Johnson went down with a sprained MCL and ankle during Monday’s practice Darren Urban of the team’s official website, said the team will start Mathieu at Johnson’s free safety position.

The Cardinals will play their first pre-season home game against the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday as they look to improve to 2-0 as they shutout the Green Bay Packers last week 17-0.

“It just gives me an opportunity to go help my team,” Mathieu said. “Of course I wish Rashad a speedy recovery because he was one of those guys who showed me the ropes from a safety standpoint. But it gives me the opportunity to go out there and be there for my teammates.” (ProFootballTalk.com)

During his first game in the NFL Mathieu had one tackle, one sack, one quarterback hit, and one pass defended against the Packers and head coach Bruce Arians says Mathieu “has an unbelievable support system within the team”. While Johnson signed an extension with Arizona this off-season, if Mathieu continues to excel on the field, “Honey Badger” may find himself on the field a lot more often and earlier than most expected.

The Cardinals vs Cowboys game will be shown on NFL Network live on Saturday with a kickoff scheduled for 4:30pm EST

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