Should Cards Shut Injured Anquan Boldin Down?

Anquan Boldin, when healthy, is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. This isn't a secret. He's been to three Pro Bowls, enjoyed four 1,000-yard seasons, caught more than 500 passes thus far in only 87 games and scored 41 touchdowns. He's a running back in a receiver's body, though, so he has endured his fair share of injuries -- missing 16 games in his first six seasons due to injury. This season, he's played every game, but he's done so at less than 100 percent.

Looking at his numbers, it's evident he's not himself. His per-game averages show Boldin's on pace for career lows across the board. And he just doesn't seem himself, either. Considering his ankle injury isn't going away without rest -- and the fact that the gamer Boldin won't voluntarily sit out -- should the Cardinals bench him until he's healthy? One Arizona columnist says they should.

Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic has made a plea to head coach Ken Whisenhunt to take the decision away from Boldin -- who insists he's about 80 percent but definitely OK to play -- and bench him.

By playing at considerably less than optimal health, Boldin is hurting the team. It's hard to make him a big part of the game plan, because no one is sure how long Boldin's ankle will hold up. It doesn't appear he can accelerate as fast on his pass routes, or move quickly enough to evade tacklers when he does make the catch.

It's the age-old question: do you keep running a star out there when he's clearly not himself, or risk losing a game or two while he works himself back to health. If he was simply in pain and his performance wasn't impacted, that would be one thing. You can't tell a player to stop putting himself through voluntary pain, because it's his job to play football.

It's quite another animal when his performance is actually lacking. As I mentioned earlier, Boldin is having the worst season of his career. Sure, it's because he's injured, but he's still injured. And, as Somers points out, Boldin's altering the team's game plan by not being able to complete games. With the only way to fully heal the ankle being rest, it seems like the right move, even if it angers Boldin.

For now, Whisenhunt seems as non-committal as possible:

"That is certainly something we are going to have to consider because you don't want to go through the rest of the season with Anquan only being able to play a half or three quarters before his ankle flares up," Whisenhunt said.

"I can't tell you how impressed I am with Anquan's toughness and ... his desire to compete," Whisenhunt said. "That's a big part of our football team. That's something you lose if you try to rest him."

The Cardinals head to Chicago this Sunday to square off with a Bears team who, like Arizona, is a fringe-type playoff team. Conventional wisdom says they need Boldin on the field, but it's entirely possible they'd be better served with Steve Breaston, Jerheme Urban and Early Doucet rounding out the receiving corps opposite star Larry Fitzgerald.

After all, the Cardinals did win four of five games without Boldin last year (including the playoffs).