Tyrann Mathieu says the Arizona Cardinals are inspired to perform strongly for Bruce Arians in 2017 after his latest cancer revelation.
The Cardinals coach revealed in his recently-published book "The Quarterback Whisperer" that he had suffered a third cancer diagnosis last season and continued to coach through his illness, which affected his kidney.
Arians had a small portion of his kidney removed in February after keeping the nature of his illness private to many people, although strong safety Mathieu revealed he had been one of the players informed.
The 64-year-old had previously battled prostate cancer in 2007 and had cancerous cells removed from his nose in 2013.
And Mathieu, who could only play in 10 games last season because of a shoulder injury, said the Cardinals are ready to "light it up" in what could be Arians' farewell season to the coaching ranks.
Mathieu told Sky Sports News HQ: "He's a pretty private guy but me and him actually had the conversation where he revealed that to me. I knew the challenges he was facing last season, and we as an organisation had some challenges last season because we didn't really play as we wanted to.
"I'm glad coach is doing well and this gives us another chip on our shoulder where we have got to go out and play that much harder for him.
"He's very genuine and a lot of players look for that from their coaches. He's been very loyal to us as players from day one and we respect him a lot.
"He's not a guy who is hard to play for by any means. Just with everything that has happened to him personally, and we understand he's having thoughts about possibly retiring at the end of the season. We've got a couple of veterans who might be thinking about retiring as well so we have got a lot to play for.
"We have a lot to prove. I'm back healthy and excited, and a lot of our guys just want to go out there and light it up."
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The regular season of home and away matches run from September to December 2017, culminating in PlayOffs from January 6, 2018 and the Super Bowl on February 4, 2018 at the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota to determine the world champion.