Lyle Sendlein Likely To Retire

While nothing is official is yet, Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians suggested today that center Lyle Sendlein will likely retire this offseason, per Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com (via Twitter). “As far as I know,” Arians said. “I don’t think he’s announced it yet.”Lyle Sendlein

Sendlein, who turned 32 last Wednesday, has been the Cardinals’ starting center for most of the last decade, appearing in 136 regular season games (124 starts) for the team since 2007. The Texas alum ranked 27th out of 39 qualified centers in 2015, according to Pro Football Focus, which graded him as a slightly better run blocker than pass blocker.

If Sendlein does decide to continue his career, it seems likely to happen in Arizona. Last year, the team was prepared to move on without him, but didn’t like its options at center in training camp, and ultimately re-signed the veteran in August.

This time around, center is one of the few spots on the Cardinals’ offensive line that doesn’t already have a clear-cut starter lined up. Whoever ends up landing the job will have good company on either side of him, with Mike Iupati and Evan Mathis penciled in as the club’s starting guards.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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