The Arizona Cardinals were dealt a bit of a blow this week, as they were forced to place rookie wide receiver Hakeem Butler on injured reserve, ending the young players season before it ever truly got started. Butler was injured during the Cardinals second preseason game, suffering a fractured hand that will now keep him out for the entire season.

While Butler’s hand injury likely won’t take the entirety of the 2019 regular season to heal, the Cardinals seemed to prefer letting the rookie sit. Due to the Cardinals placing him on injured reverse prior to finalizing their roster, Butler will not be eligible to return, and instead, the team will have those slots available to other players who might be more ready to help the team now.

Still, Butler was one of three wide receivers the Cardinals selected in the hopes of building an offense around number one pick Kyler Murray, so to see him go down hurts.

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“I think just when you have his height, size, speed, that's an element that you want on your roster,” Kingsbury said (via ESPN) last week. “Unfortunately, if he's not available, it's hard to find 6-5 guys, 6-6 guys who are running sub-4.5. But other guys have stepped up.”

With the recent addition of veteran wide receiver Michael Crabtree, the Cardinals will continue to try and help Murray out in any way. For Butler, his season will instead be focused on recovering and continuing to learn the offense and system, all while preparing to be an effective player next year.