Corey Clement and Ty’son Williams can help the Arizona Cardinals deal with a slew of injuries at the running back position.
Something very peculiar happened to the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday during the team’s heartbreaking loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Cards dressed four running backs for the matchup, but only one was deemed healthy enough to play when the game reached it’s conclusion.
Second-year pro Eno Benjamin had to pick up the slack against the Eagles after James Conner, Darrel Williams, and Jonathan Ward were sidelined with injuries. The position’s walking-wounded list grew substantially during the Week 5 defeat, forcing Cardinals general manager Steve Keim to take action.
On Tuesday, Keim added both Corey Clement and Ty’son Williams to Arizona’s practice squad. With Benjamin being the club’s only healthy ball-carrier at the present time, head coach Kliff Kingsbury may have to find a way to utilize the new backfield additions when the Redbirds take on the Seattle Seahawks this coming weekend.
Arizona Cardinals may utilize both new running backs this Sunday
Clement came to the NFL back in 2017 when he signed as an undrafted free agent with Philadelphia. The 27-year-old was most productive during his first two years in the league when he racked up 895 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns in 27 appearances for the Eagles.
Ty’son Williams was also an undrafted free agent when he inked a deal with the Baltimore Ravens back in 2020. The 6 foot, 220 pounder made his professional debut last season, racking up 269 yards from scrimmage and a score in 13 contests (three starts) for Baltimore.
During his press conference on Wednesday, Kingsbury listed Conner as “day-to-day” with a rib injury. Darrel Williams (knee) has already been ruled out of the Cards’ Week 6 clash with the Seahawks. Ward has been placed on the organization’s injured-reserve list with a strained hamstring, meaning he will miss a minimum of four matchups.
Arizona will likely promote rookie Keaontay Ingram to the active roster for this week’s battle with Seattle. The seventh-round draft pick has failed to dress for all five of the squad’s games thus far in 2022.
A fantastic opportunity has fallen into the lap of the extremely-likable Benjamin. It would be no great surprise if the talented 23-year old takes full advantage of what should be an expanded role in the “Air Raid” offense. The Cardinals, rest assured, would love nothing more.
(Statistics provided by Pro Football Reference)