Arizona Cardinals: Ellington shown the door
By Scott Allen
The Arizona Cardinals finally gave up on the fifth-year running back on Monday
You had to figure that something was up on Sunday when Andre Ellington showed up on the inactive list. That in itself is usually not a surprise for the Arizona Cardinals.
However, Ellington was never on the injured report last week. He was a healthy scratch. That is never a good sign, especially for a struggling team trying to find offensive weapons.
On Monday, the Cardinals ended their relationship with Ellington by cutting him. The oft-injured, once starting running back had reached the end of the leash he had been on over the past two seasons.
What precipitated the move? Likely a combination of things. He worked hard but could never stay 100 percent healthy.
The Cardinals also have a receiver problem right now that is going to need to be addressed. The Cardinals could sign a receiver at some point this week and the roster spot was needed.
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That might not be the case but the Cardinals did say they would be looking at receivers this week. Remember Ellington was once going to be given a chance to move to receiver.
That experiment in the last off season didn’t last long however. After about two weeks he went right back to his running back position.
He was third on the depth chart and hardly utilized despite his versatility. When David Johnson went down in week one, it was thought maybe Ellington could go back to being the guy the Cardinals wanted him to be three years ago. It was not to be.
Kerwynn Williams was the only one behind Adrian Peterson getting any work. Ellington’s end was writing on the wall.
Certainly we wish him well. He was a big part of the start of the Bruce Arians era in Arizona. The time to move on though was now. The Cardinals are preparing for their future and need players they can consistently count on.