The Arizona Cardinals got the worst possible news regarding offensive lineman Chase Bisontis. The rookie offensive lineman suffered a brutal knee injury in their preseason win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport reports that Bisontis suffered a torn MCL, which will require surgery to repair. Since he’ll need surgery, he’ll miss his entire rookie season.
But Bisontis is out most, or potentially all, of the season.
The MCL being torn isn’t a surprise after watching Arizona Cardinals On SI’s Donnie Druin’s video of the injury. Raiders defensive lineman Brandon Cleveland’s body weight landed on the outside of Bisontis’ left knee.
Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur confirmed that Bisontis will be out for the season. LaFleur told arizonacardinals.com’s Darren Urban the rookie offensive lineman will be placed on injured reserve.
“He’ll be out for a good amount of time, if not the whole year, which sucks for him,” said LaFleur, with video courtesy of PHNX’s Bo Brack. “I always think about the player first. It sucks for the Cardinals when you lose a good player, but you hate it for the player.”
What the Chase Bisontis Injury News Means for the Cardinals
With Chase Bisontis headed for injured reserve, that hurts the Cardinals’ depth on the interior offensive line. Arizona selected the former Texas A&M guard 34th overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. He had two strong preseason outings.
In their game against the Raiders, the team rolled with Isaac Seumalo and Isaiah Adams as the starting guards. Seumalo was flagged for one of two false starts on the only drive the starters played.
The injury also means that Bisontis is unlikely to get any valuable practice or game reps as a rookie. Depending on the health of the offensive line, he would have gotten an opportunity to start this season. Instead, he’ll spend all season rehabbing the MCL tear.
The timing of the roster move also bears importance. If the Cardinals put Bisontis on injured reserve before cutdown day, he is ineligible to return in any capacity. The team can designate two players put on IR on cutdown day to return.
Sports injury expert Dr. Jesse Morse opined on the Bisontis injury. Morse estimates a recovery time of six to nine months for the Cardinals guard. He adds, “Missing anything less than the full season would be impressive.”
So the best-case scenario for both Bisontis and the Cardinals would be for him to be fully healthy when offseason workouts begin next spring.
Cardinals Get Devastating Injury News on Rookie OL Chase Bisontis