The Arizona Cardinals placed two players — quarterback Gardner Minshew and receiver Michael Wilson — on injured reserve earlier this week. On Wednesday, they have two players on their way back from IR.

The Cardinals designated defensive lineman Zach Carter and tight end Hunter Long to return from injured reserve, opening a three-week window for them to practice. At any point in the 21-day window or at the conclusion of it, they can be activated from IR, taking a spot on the 53-man roster.

The Cardinals have a vacancy on their 53-man roster currently, so they probably anticipate one of them being activated this weekend.

Carter has been on injured reserve since before the season. He injured his knee in the Hall of Fame Game in the preseason. He will likely need more than this week to be ready to play.

Long injured his knee in Week 4 against the New York Giants.

If either comes back this week, Long is probably the better bet, which will give the Cardinals four tight ends on the roster. They have been using four active tight ends for games during the last few weeks.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on , YouTube or Apple Podcasts.

This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: TE Hunter Long, DL Zach Carter on way back from injurues for Arizona Cardinals