Rashard Mendenhall Named Arizona Cardinals Starting Running Back
By Josh Sanchez
It didn’t take long for free agent signee Rashard Mendenhall to establish himself as the Arizona Cardinals starting running back. Last week, reports emerged that Mendenhall would be the starting tailback and today Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians confirmed the news during an appearance on NFL Network’s “NFL AM”.
Despite coming off of knee surgery, Mendenhall will be ready to go for the start of the season and he will be heavily featured in the offense.
“Rashard is just 25 years old (turns 26 on Wednesday),” Arians said. “He took me personally to a Super Bowl, and I know what he can bring to the table as a runner and a pass protector and also a receiver. He’s an every-down player. And I think he’s looking forward to having an outstanding season.”
It says a lot about Arians’ belief in Mendenhall that he is putting so much confidence in the former first-rounder and that confidence should go a long way with Mendenhall.
If there are no injuries during the preseason, we could finally see the pre-injury Mendenhall that looked like an early star with the Pittsburgh Steelers.