Arizona Cardinals Safety Tyrann Mathieu Out For Rest of Season After Torn ACL

Tyrann Mathieu, a safety for the Arizona Cardinals, will miss the remainder of this season following a right ACL tear during Sunday night’s road victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

The injury resulted from Mathieu’s interception of Eagles QB Sam Bradford with 2:37 left in the fourth quarter. The ACL tear was revealed during an MRI late Monday morning. Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians said Mathieu will probably wait a few weeks before having surgery to allow the swelling to subside. “He’ll be fine,” said Arians, who was with Mathieu when he heard the news of his injury. “He’ll bounce back, and he’ll be ready for next year.”

This is Mathieu’s second major knee injury in his career. He previously injured his left ACL and LCL on Dec. 8, 2013 against the St. Louis Rams on a free-kick return. So far this season, Mathieu has set record highs with 89 tackles, five interceptions and one interception returned for a touchdown.

“He set goals and he was attaining them,” Coach Arians added. “I thought he should be right there with [cornerback] Patrick [Peterson] for defensive player of the year. I don’t think there was any doubt that he was having that type of season. It’s a shame with two games left, and it’s always a non-contact injury when these things happen.”

The Cardinals (12-2) will next host the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. They are currently first in the NFC West Division.

PHOTO: PHILADELPHIA, PA – DECEMBER 20: Tyrann Mathieu #32 of the Arizona Cardinals celebrates after teammate Deone Bucannon picked off a pass from Sam Bradford of the Philadelphia Eagles and ran it in for a touchdown in the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on December 20, 2015 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Arizona Cardinals defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 40-17. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)