It’s starting to look as if there’s a real chance that the Arizona Cardinals are without starting running back Andre Ellington for an extended period of time. If that’s the case, expect Jonathan Dwyer to be the primary beneficiary.
Kent Zomers of azcentral.com writes that Dwyer “likely would start in place of Ellington.”
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Ellington aggravated his left foot during practice on Thursday and Mike Jurecki of Fox Sports speculated that the running back could miss 4-6 weeks with the injury.
As for Andre Ellington time frame a lot will depend the how quickly he heals, could be 4-6 weeks or longer depending on further prognosis.
— Mike Jurecki (@mikejurecki) September 5, 2014
Dwyer has not experienced significant success at the NFL level, but Arizona could do worse with their backup running back slot. In 36 career games with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dwyer racked up 971 yards and two touchdowns on 230 attempts.
The Cardinals signed Dwyer to a one-year contract this past offseason.
Still, there’s a chance that Dwyer never sees a start, at least at this point of the season. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reports that Ellington could still play in the Cardinals’ season-opener against the San Diego Chargers.
On #Cardinals RB Andre Ellington (foot), who had an MRI last night: First prescription is rest. He’s hopeful. Still a chance he plays on MNF
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 5, 2014
Ellington rushed for 652 yards and three touchdowns on 118 attempts this past season.