Arizona Cardinals: David Johnson injury sounds alarms
The undisclosed injury to Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson is more than slightly concerning for the team and offense.
The return of running back David Johnson to the Arizona Cardinals is much needed. When he suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1 of the 2017, the offense truly never had a chance. Considering the role that he plays in the offense, that’s truly not a surprise.
Johnson serves as the No. 2 receiving option behind Larry Fitzgerald and obviously the bell cow ball-carrier in the Cardinals offense when healthy. As such, fans across the desert were more than likely delighted to hear that the running back appeared ready to go for offseason workouts and activities not long ago. Unfortunately, that delight has quickly turned to rightful concern.
This week at OTAs (per NFL.com), Johnson has missed time at practice with the team with an undisclosed injury. What’s more, the coaching staff — specifically new head coach Steve Wilks — was mum about any ailments with the running back, offering the canned line about being worried about the players who were out there.
Wilks can say that he’s only worried about that, but everyone knows that he and Cardinals fans across the country are holding their collective breath over this. Without Johnson, this offense is simply in trouble.
That’s not to say the Cardinals are without offensive talent outside of Johnson. Sam Bradford can be above-average when healthy, Fitzgerald is a legend, rookie wideout Christian Kirk has promise and fellow rookie quarterback Josh Rosen has been impressive thus far. But this offense relies on Johnson so heavily that his presence is clearly the most impactful.
Perhaps the reason that Wilks and Arizona are keeping the nature of Johnson’s injury under wraps is because they don’t want anyone to worry. At the same time, it’s equally as possible that it could be something serious and they don’t want to reveal it until they have more information.
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Not knowing is certainly the worst part, and ignorance is not bliss right now if you’re a Cardinals fan. An offseason to Johnson, if serious, has the potential to derail a team that has some dark horse potential before Week 1 ever arrives. For the sake of great players, good football and sanity throughout Arizona, let’s hope that this winds up being nothing — but that’s not certain at this point.