Andre Ellington Injury: Arizona Cardinals RB will play today
Arizona Cardinals running back Andre Ellington (38) fends off a tackle from Indianapolis Colts strong safety Antoine Bethea (41) and cornerback Cassius Vaughn (32) during the first half at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Arizona Cardinals running back Andre Ellington has been a revelation as a rookie this season, but the Cardinals have been stingy with his snaps out of fear of an injury (Ellington’s a smaller back, and the Cards don’t think he can hold up as the team’s feature back). That’s the only reason why Ellington hasn’t destroyed Rashard Mendenhall when it comes to carries, and the Cardinals also trust Mendenhall, who is a plodder in every sense, with the ball (it probably has something to do with the fact that Bruce Arians coached him in Pittsburgh).
Ellington suffered a knee injury during Thursday’s practice, and it immediately put the rookie out of Clemson’s Week 13 status into serious question. When Ellington didn’t practice on Friday, his status for today’s game definitely didn’t look good. But Ellington showed plenty of optimism regarding his chances of playing, and the Cardinals listed Ellington as questionable for today’s game. Arians also downplayed the injury, but Ellington was still fully expected to be a totally-up-in-the-air, game-time decision for the Cardinals.
Now, the NFL Network’s Albert Breer is reporting the good news that Andre Ellington will play today, unless if he suffers a setback during pre-game warm-ups. Ellington is still technically a game-time decision, but he will almost certainly play today despite not practicing on Friday due to a new knee injury. Today’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles is an important one for both teams, because every game counts in the playoff races. So yeah, Cardinals fans and Ellington fantasy owners should be very happy about this report from Breer.