Johnson practices, may play on Sunday
David Johnson ran purposefully at his target, planted, cut back and ran away in the opposite direction. It was just in the locker room, and it was just to grab his phone, but small steps are good news for the Cardinals running back.
Johnson took the field Monday for practice after missing most of last week and the Cardinals’ past two games with an ankle injury.
Coach Kliff Kingsbury said Friday that Johnson would likely play this Sunday in Tampa. At practice on Monday, Kingsbury felt Johnson “looked great,” though noting practice speed is always different than in a game.
Running back Chase Edmonds did not practice Monday. “He’s coming, he’s coming,” Kingsbury said. “Probably not this week, but he’s progressing.”
Along with that, right tackle Justin Murray was not practicing during the open portion of practice. Murray was unable to play on Thursday with a knee injury. Left guard Justin Pugh slid over to take over for Murray, and Mason Cole stepped up to start in Pugh’s place.
“Still working through it,” Kingsbury said. “Day-to-day. He’s made progress, but not sure either way if he’ll be able to play on Sunday.”
There is no injury report until Wednesday. During the open part of practice, linebackers Terrell Suggs and Chandler Jones, cornerback Tramaine Brock, defensive linemen Zach Allen and Clinton McDonald, and quarterback Brett Hundley were not practicing.
McDonald exited Thursday’s game with a stinger, and he has a lingering injury.
“He does, he does. Kind of a shoulder issue, and we’ll see where that kind of goes,” Kingsbury said.
While Kingsbury and the staff work through Murray’s and McDonald’s injuries, they’ll also be deciding on a game plan if Johnson does indeed play. Kingsbury doesn’t want to overload him in his return, and he’s got some help there. Running back Kenyan Drake had a standout debut Thursday night. Kingsbury certainly prefers navigating multiple running backs, as opposed to too few.
One option would be to start by determining what Johnson can do, and having Drake fill in from there.
“I think we’ll be smart with how with use (Johnson), and make sure we don’t give him the ball 40 times or anything like that,” Kingsbury said. “Just get his game conditioning back. But he’s been working hard, like what I see so far, and hopefully he can contribute on Sunday.”
Isabella progressing
Rookie wide receiver Andy Isabella is averaging 32 yards per catch, which is easy to do when one of your three catches was an 88-yard touchdown. He showcased his speed on that big play late in Thursday’s loss to the 49ers.
Kingsbury thinks Isabella is still developing, but not for any reason he finds concerning. “I think the NFL, obviously it’s a big step up ... He’s game for all of it. It just takes time,” Kingsbury said.
When it comes to a play like that, that “he can run a 4.3” in the 40-yard dash means “it tends to happen” in Kingsbury’s eyes. But the coach is careful not to extrapolate too much from one play like that. He believes Isabella is hard to catch and can be “explosive,” but he thinks Isabella still has some more to learn.
That being said, he knows how much a play like that can help Isabella individually. “It definitely builds confidence,” Kingsbury said. “Anytime you go against one of the top defenses in the league and hit a big play like that, that means a lot to him.”