Arizona Cardinals running back Andre Ellington has a foot injury and while he suited up last week and likely will play in Week 3, fantasy football owners should pick up Jonathan Dwyer and Stepfan Taylor as free agent handcuffs as RB, as Ellington will be dealing with the foot injury for a while and could miss time even after playing the first two games.
According to Pro Football Talk, Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians said that Ellington is still dealing with foot pain after the game on Sunday and while he will sit out practice this week, his status right now is active for Week 3. Ellington came into the Monday night football game in Week 1 as a game time decision and he ended up playing and last week he was held out of practice to keep his foot healthy before playing on Sunday.
Ellington said that he has dealt with foot issues before in college and that the pain is manageable and as long as it doesn't get more serious, he should be ready to play. Arians and the Cardinals are going to continue holding out Ellington from early week practices and as long as his foot allows it, he likely will practice late in the week before games. Ellington has shown that he can handle playing with some pain and for fantasy owners without better options, it's worth it to start him.
In deeper leagues and for any fantasy owners worried about him injuring this foot further, Jonathan Dwyer is the best free agent option for Ellington right now. Taylor is better in a deep league since he is the third string back, but if Ellington gets hurt on Sunday, he likely would be elevated to the backup role. Ellington has shown that he can be a great dual threat out of the backfield and with his speed he should be a strong start each week.
Ellington has 144 yards already this season and six catches for 37 yards and he is coming off of a game with over 100 total yards against the Giants. Last season Ellington ended up with 652 yards in 15 games and he had over 1000 total yards by adding 371 receiving yards on 39 receptions. Dwyer likely will steal some touchdowns as a goal line threat and that makes him a solid pickup in some leagues over Taylor.
Last season Dwyer had 197 yards in 15 games with Pittsburgh and now he has taken over the backup role with Arizona and has 51 yards with one touchdown and two catches this season. Taylor had three catches in the game against the Chargers in Week 1 and he has just one rush for five yards this season after going for 115 yards last season. Taylor is only an option if Ellington gets injured.
The Cardinals got a nice win over the NY Giants on Sunday and Ellington played a big part and now the team is 2-0 and leading the NFC west for the moment. The Cardinals just missed the playoffs last season and now they should be a very tough opponent in their division, even with the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers the favorites in that group.
