Cardinals Must Be Careful With Andre Ellington

By Evan Massey | Oct 29, 2014

Oct 19, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back Andre Ellington (38) runs the ball against the Oakland Raiders in the third quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Cardinals defeated the Raiders 24-13. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /

The Arizona Cardinals must be careful with Andre Ellington’s healthy throughout this NFL season.

The Arizona Cardinals have been one of the most surprising teams in the NFL this season, and they haven’t shown any signs of slowing down so far. They have had quite a few health issues throughout the year, including starting quarterback Carson Palmer going down. ESPN talked about the issues that the Cardinals have at running back, and why they need to make sure to keep Andre Ellington healthy.

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Needless to say, the depth behind Ellington in the backfield is mediocre at best. Stepfan Taylor has shown some flashes of being a solid backup, but he isn’t the type of player that Arizona would like to have to start in case of injury. Behind Taylor are Marion Grice and Robert Hughes, who simply aren’t capable of starting at the NFL level.

Ellington has been a key piece for the Cardinals, and has played well both in the ground game as well as a receiver out of the backfield. He has carried the football 128 times this season for 464 yards and two touchdown, while also catching 28 passes for 274 yards and a touchdowns. The Cardinals need him to continue putting up good games all-around in order to help take pressure off of the passing attack.

At 25 years of age, Ellington is in the prime of his career and is in the best shape of his life. It might not come to mind that Arizona needs to do everything they can to keep him healthy, but that still needs to be on the mind of the Cardinals’ as they move forward this season. That could mean using Taylor more often in order to reduce the wear and tear on Ellington.

All of that being said, the Cardinals are looking like a lock to make the playoffs this season and might even be able to shock the league and win the NFC West. It’s too early to be talking about that, but they have put together an extremely talented roster. Expect Ellington to continue performing at a high level, and the Cardinals to continue playing the brand of football that they have been so far this year.

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