Andre Ellington has PCL sprain, not ruled out for Week 2 in Chicago

When Andre Ellington went to the ground without contact in the fourth quarter of the Arizona Cardinals’ 31-19 win over the New Orleans Saints Sunday, it was natural to fear the worst. After all, many of the NFL’s worst injuries — ACLs, Achilles tendons, etc. — occur under those circumstances.

It appears that is not the case here, however.

“Andre has a mild sprained PCL, there’s no timetable because it is so individual, it could be a week, it could be three weeks,” head coach Bruce Arians said Monday. “He’s a very tough guy, we know that. Last year he played with a lot worse. It actually happened on the play before when he slammed his knee into the ground. Then when he went to make the cut he knew it wasn’t right.”

Arians said he won’t rule him out for the game in Chicago just yet.

If Ellington is not able to go Sunday in Chicago, Chris Johnson would get the start.

The sprain was first reported earlier Monday by ESPN’s Josina Anderson.

Source: Cardinals RB Andre Ellington has a Grade 1 PCL Sprain. Estimated return to play 2 to 3 weeks.

— Josina Anderson (@JosinaAnderson) September 14, 2015

After the game, Arians said the team thought it was a PCL injury and that Ellington himself said he was feeling pretty good. Then, Monday morning, before the running back underwent an MRI, Cardinals general manager Steve Keim told Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM the team was optimistic it would not be a bad injury.

After the game in Chicago, the Cardinals host a pair of division opponents — the San Francisco 49ers and St. Louis Rams.

Ellington ran for 69 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries before leaving the game Sunday. He also caught one pass for seven yards.

Johnson ran for 37 yards on 10 carries Sunday.

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