Is Andre Ellington’s future with the Arizona Cardinals?

Does the Arizona Cardinals’ depth at running back make 2016 a possible swan song season for Andre Ellington?

It was just a year ago that the running back depth on the Arizona Cardinals lacked firepower. Rashard Mendenhall retired prematurely after just one season in the desert. Stepfan Taylor and Kerwyn Williams were serviceable at best.

Andre Ellington was coming off an injury-riddled season. Head coach Bruce Arians made the mistake of thinking Ellington could be an every-down back. He was wrong, the at the time, 2nd year back wasn’t big enough to take the pounding.

It was time for reinforcements. David Johnson was drafted out of Northern Iowa. Veteran back Chris Johnson was brought in for minimal money, one of the shrewdest and most brilliant moves of the 2015 offseason.

The results were phenomenal. Chris Johnson was well on his way to a 1000 yard season before suffering a season-ending knee injury. David Johnson took advantage of the extra touches and looked like a star in the making.

But Ellington once again got injured. When he did play he showed flashes of brilliance but there’s just no way around the durability concerns.

Which leads us to this season. David Johnson will most likely have the “bell cow” role and see plenty of touches. In a mild surprise Chris Johnson re-signed with the team and figures to see a decent amount of touches himself.

So how much playing time does that leave for Ellington? Hard to tell.

But the writing seems to be on the wall. He will most likely be auditioning for the league which should lead to at least a couple teams knocking on his door next offseason. There’s a good chance that the Arizona Cardinals won’t be one of them.