The big question with Arizona Cardinals running back Andre Ellington coming into this season was could he stay healthy? The Clemson alum missed one game his rookie season and four games last year and, at 5-foot-9 and 199 pounds, isn't exactly built for feature back duties. Sure enough, Ellington suffered a sprained PCL last week and will mist between one and three games.
So who will step up in his place? Rookie David Johnson scored a 55-yard touchdown on an impressive scamper in Week 1. But it is veteran Chris Johnson that is in line to start in place for Ellington.
"It's looking less likely that Andre Ellington will play, or have a significant role if he does play," ESPN's Josh Weinfuss wrote. "That means Chris Johnson will be the starter Sunday in Chicago. Johnson has slowly regained his legs after missing all offseason workouts and the first few weeks of training camp. He averaged 4.29 yards per carry in the fourth quarter against the Saints after replacing Ellington, getting stronger as the game progressed. That has quarterback Carson Palmer looking forward to watching Johnson get better with each play Sunday ,saying, "He is one of those guys that, the longer you feed him and the more opportunities he gets, the better the chances are he rips one off for 30 or 60 yards."
Johnson finished the game with 10 carries for 37 yards. He had a so-so year with the New York Jets last year, rushing for 663 yards and one touchdown while catching 24 passes for 151 yards and an additional score. While he may not be the CJ2k of old, his workload and Arizona's solid offense is enough to make him a flex-worthy play this week against the Chicago Bears' soft rush defense.
