Dennis Green and the Arizona Cardinals were dealt a crushing blow on Wednesday when they found out that Boldin's knee injury was more severe than originally thought.

At first, the Cardinals believed that the injury would keep the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year out two to four weeks, but further examination revealed that the tear was worse than originally believed, and will sideline Boldin for eight to 12 weeks.

The injury will keep Boldin off the field until at least week 4 of the season, and could possibly keep him out the entire first half of the season.l

Boldin suffered the injury just going through basic stretching before camp started.

Last year, Boldin broke the rookie record for most receptions in a season with 101. Boldin also had 1377 yards, eight touchdowns, and five 100-yard receiving games for the Cards.

Boldin's injury will likely give openings to Larry Fitzgerald and Bryant Johnson as the team's two starters. Johnson was a first round pick a year ago, and Larry Fitzgerald was a first round, third overall, pick this year.

This will likely hamper Green's strategy of running a more wide open offense. With Boldin, Fitzgerald, and Johnson, along with Freddie Jones at TE, Green believed he may have one of the more potent, young passing offenses in football. This may force Green to focus more on the running game, which may not fair well for the Cards with Marcel Shipp's recent injury, meaning the ageless wonder Emmitt Smith will  be seeing more carries.

More importantly to the Cards, however, is Boldin's future. With the team still likely a year away from truly contending for the playoffs, they will focus on getting Boldin at 100% before getting him back onto the field, instead of rushing him onto the field and possibly creating a chronic problem.