TEMPE, Ariz. -- The avalanche of off-field stories continued for the Arizona Cardinals when running back Jonathan Dwyer was arrested Wednesday on assault charges.
Being asked about contracts, injuries, play-calling and, now, a teammate’s legal issues, has become routine for the Cardinals.
"We move on," Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said. "It’s not a distraction. It will not be a distraction. Our team’s kinda gotten used to what everybody else would consider a distraction, and get ready for a huge football game this Sunday."
The Cardinals have answered a lot of questions, but not many about the 49ers, who come to University of Phoenix Stadium on Sunday.
The series of off-the-field stories came full circle Friday when linebacker John Abraham was put on injured reserve because of a concussion he suffered in Week 1. Abraham started the list of off-the-field stories when his June arrest on suspicion of DUI in Atlanta was reported during the first few days of training camp.
Since then:
Cornerback Patrick Peterson signed his mega extension.
Tight end Jake Ballard retired.
Defensive end Darnell Dockett tore his ACL.
Running back Andre Ellington hurt his left foot.
Wide reciever Larry Fitzgerald didn’t have any passes thrown his way until the fourth quarter in Week 1.
Quarterback Carson Palmer suffered nerve damage.
Then Dwyer.
Then Abraham, again.
Veteran wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald doesn’t think he has seen this many off-field stories this early in a season in the first 10 years of his career.
"Adversity, it comes in all different sizes, shapes and forms," Fitzgerald said. "You have to be able to deal with it. Everybody’s dealing with it in some way or form. We got this type of issue here. Washington’s dealing with injuries.
"It’s all different. But come Sunday, it doesn’t matter. The best team has to come out there and win."
As far as Arizona’s on-field performance goes, the Cardinals are 2-0, having won with two different starting quarterbacks. Arians said the off-field issues haven’t strayed onto the Cardinals’ practice field this week. He called Wednesday and Thursday’s practices "great."
Larry Foote, a 13-year veteran, said Arizona needs to approach Dwyer’s absence like an injury: Next man up.
"We just got to keep rolling,” he said.
Fitzgerald said Arizona’s focus hasn’t waned.
"It hasn’t changed one bit," Fitzgerald said. "If anything, it’s even sharper.
"You come in the locker room (Thursday), I don’t know if I’ve ever seen this kind of media contingency here at the Cardinals, Thursday, Week 3. It’s just like the Super Bowl a couple years ago. We understand that there’s a lot of eyes on us. We have to [home] in. We have to have that bunker mentality. We got to just rely on each other and fight for each other."