Arizona Cardinals: Bad news on tap for Monday

DETROIT, MI - SEPTEMBER 10: David Johnson #31 of the Arizona Cardinals escapes the tackle of Glover Quin #27 of the Detroit Lions during a second half run at Ford Field on September 10, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - SEPTEMBER 10: David Johnson #31 of the Arizona Cardinals escapes the tackle of Glover Quin #27 of the Detroit Lions during a second half run at Ford Field on September 10, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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The Arizona Cardinals will get results of injuries to a couple of their key players

We know it’s coming.  It’s just a matter of how bad the news will be for Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson and left tackle D.J. Humphries.

Humphries left the loss to the Detroit Lions early in the first half.  His injury after the game was diagnosed as knee sprain.  As of right now word is he will likely miss a few weeks.

As for Johnson, the word is he could miss a few weeks or maybe half a season or more.  The length of his absence will be determined by an MRI scheduled for Monday. He has sprained his wrist.

Are these adversities the Cardinals can overcome?  All preseason and training camp we talked about how the Cardinals need to stay healthy, especially at key positions, in order to be successful this season.

While losing either player is not ideal at any time, losing them early allows them time to heal and still return to have productive seasons.  Before he left the game in the third quarter though, Johnson was already having a tough day.

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The Cardinals will have a choice to make if Johnson in fact only has to miss a few weeks.  He can be put on the inactive list for a few weeks.  If he is expected to miss half a season, the Cardinals likely would put him on injured reserve and designate him to return.

By doing that, it could jeopardize any possible return for running back T.J. Logan.  He was lost to a wrist injury in the preseason opener.  It was originally thought he would be able to come back mid-season.

Teams can designate up to two players to return starting this year.  However would the Cardinals want to use that designation on two running backs?  Certainly if it came down to on or the other, Johnson is winning that hands down.

That also begs the question of who do they replace Johnson with?  Do they re-sign Chris Johnson? Would you even want to come back if you were Chris Johnson?

As for Humphries, he too could stay on the active roster and just be ruled inactive until he is better in a few weeks.  We will certainly find out more on Monday.