David Johnson left the Cardinals’ Week 1 loss to the Lions with a wrist injury. It wasn’t broken, but further tests determined that it was dislocated and he will need surgery. Johnson will miss two to three months of playing time, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
David Johnson to have wrist surgery and will miss 2-3 months, per report
It’s not good news for Johnson and the Cardinals.
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Jeanna Kelley has been covering the Falcons for The Falcoholic since 2011 and the NFL for SB Nation since 2015.
The Cardinals will place Johnson on injured reserve, according to Schefter. He could potentially return to the field once he’s healthy.
What does this mean for the Cardinals? Johnson was fundamentally important to Arizona’s offense last season. He finished 2016 with 1,239 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns, and he added 879 yards and four touchdowns through the air.
He wasn’t much of a factor against the Lions’ defense. Johnson had 11 carries for 23 yards and six receptions for 68 yards before he left that game with the wrist injury.
The Lions were so stout against the run Sunday that it forced Arizona to pass more. Without the threat of Johnson in the backfield, the Cardinals’ offense will be forced to rely on the pass. That didn’t go well against the Lions. Carson Palmer threw for 269 yards, one touchdown, and three picks against Detroit. He also took five sacks.
The next man up is Kerwynn Williams. Williams managed to get just 10 yards on five carries against the Lions, but he did get into the end zone once.
The Cardinals are also bringing in D.J. Foster, a second-year running back out of Arizona State. Arizona signed Foster off of the Patriots’ practice squad, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Foster played in three games for the Patriots in 2016 and had six carries for 23 yards.
Arizona also has Andre Ellington and Elijhaa Penny, who can share some of the load.
What people are saying: Seth Cox of Revenge of the Birds, SB Nation’s Arizona Cardinals blog, told Fake Teams that he expects the Cardinals to shift more toward a running back by committee approach:
Kerwynn Williams will be the first man up, but you’ll see some of Andre Ellington, especially in the passing game, and even some Elijhaa Penny in short yardage situations. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Cardinals bring back Chris Johnson as well, just in case. It will not be one man and adding anyone in fantasy early outside of Kerwynn seems like it would be an exercise in futility.
The Cardinals face the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2. The Colts allowed 63 rushing yards to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1.
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