The Arizona Cardinals entered the season expecting big things from Andre Ellington. He's delivered the goods so far.
Ellington, the team's talented second-year running back, had 88 yards rushing and 72 yards receiving in Sunday's win over the Oakland Raiders. It marked the third time this season Ellington has totaled more than 100 all-purpose yards in a game.
According to The Arizona Republic, only four Cardinals players since 1960 have more yards from scrimmage than Ellington's 653 through six games.
Even more impressive, Ellington has done this with a partially torn tendon in his foot. The injury has kept Ellington from practicing regularly, a fact that Cardinals coach Bruce Arians believes has kept Ellington from even greater production this season.
"He's playing through it fine," Arians said. "The problem is he's not practicing through it and that's really hurt some of our timing in the passing game.
"But he's gutting it up and playing pretty well on Sundays."
Arians noted that Ellington had multiple drops against Oakland and wasn't always lined up in the right position during the game. More reps would likely help on that end, but Arians ruled out the idea of practicing on Wednesdays.
Said Arians: "No, he can't hardly walk."
Given what we know about his physical condition, Ellington's performance on Sundays has been remarkable.
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