David Johnson’s Wrist Injury Could Force The Cardinals To Put Him On Injured Reserve


Getty Image

When running back David Johnson left the Cardinals’ season opener against the Lions on Sunday afternoon with a wrist injury and did not return, Arizona fans and Johnson’s fantasy owners all feared that their 2017 season might have gone down with him.

Johnson’s x-rays came back negative, but the wrist sprain still could keep him out for an extended period. On Sunday night, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported that the MRI results on Monday would determine whether he’d be out for a few weeks or closer to half the season. While the official results have yet to be disclosed and the Cardinals and Johnson seek more opinions on the injury, Ian Rapaport of NFL Network reports that the results weren’t good and he could be a candidate to go on injured reserve.


It’s still possible that he will only miss a few weeks, should the injury not require surgery, and that determination will come over the next few days, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

When coach Bruce Arians spoke to the media on Monday afternoon, his initial update wasn’t very encouraging.

If Johnson were to be placed on the IR list, it would mean he would miss at least eight weeks of action before he would be eligible to return to the active roster. The NFL expanded the injured reserve this year to allow teams to recall two players off of injured reserve in a season rather than just one, so the Cardinals would keep one spot open should another key piece go down. While the Cardinals will try to move forward with Kerwynn Williams and potentially a free agent signing (Rapaport mentioned Chris Johnson as a possibility), fantasy owners that took Johnson at the top of their drafts would essentially be out of luck should he be placed on IR and likely will need to start working trades or the waiver wire immediately.

We will update this post when official word of Johnson’s status comes, but for now it sounds as though the star back will miss significant time this season.