Tyrann Mathieu Injury: Cardinals Safety Placed on Injured Reserve

Arizona Cardinals defensive back Tyrann Mathieu was placed on season-ending injured reserve Friday because of a lingering shoulder injury.

Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official website provided word of the roster move, which resulted in safety Trevon Hartfield being promoted to the active roster. The report also noted it's the third time in four years the standout defender has finished the year on IR.

Mathieu is one of the league's most dynamic playmakers on the defensive side of the ball. The fourth-year safety, a 2013 third-round pick, has developed into a versatile threat with the ability to ball-hawk, drop into the box to stop the run or even occasionally rush the passer.

Injuries are one of the few things that have slowed down the 24-year-old LSU product. He's missed at least two games in each of his pro seasons. He entered the current campaign still working back to full strength from a torn ACL and then began dealing with the shoulder problem.

Along with his work at safety, Mathieu also spends quite a bit of time as a slot cornerback, so there are multiple roles to assign whenever he misses time. D.J. Swearinger, Brandon Williams, Justin Bethel and Hartfield could all see more playing time in the secondary to fill the void.

All told, the Cardinals don't have anybody with the skill set necessary to handle the wide-ranging tasks usually on Mathieu's plate. They must try to replace the production in the aggregate for the next two weeks instead, which has proved to be difficult during his previous absences.