The worst part about Jonathan Cooper's injury is he did it while getting to the second level after pulling to the right, which is the best thing you can possibly see Cooper do. He runs ballet while pulling, but he took a shot to the left leg when he got past the initial blocking level on Saturday night.
And the No. 7 pick by the Cardinals in the 2013 NFL Draft was eventually carted off to the locker room with what was later diagnosed as a broken leg.
G Jonathan Cooper, the #AZCardinals top pick in the 2013 @nfl Draft, suffered a broken leg tonight. #SDvsAZ
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) August 25, 2013
Coach Bruce Arians said after the game that he hopes Cooper can come back this season.
Cooper's an incredibly athletic lineman and one of the best players in the entire draft class; if people didn't hand out awards based on positionally-accrued statistics, Cooper would have a good shot at being the Offensive Rookie of the Year.
That potential is now in question to at least a degree after Cooper left Saturday's game. Losing him would be a big blow to an already-thin line that was hoping to improve in both run and pass protection this year.
