Cardinals release RB Andre Ellington, add Bronson Hill to practice squad

The Arizona Cardinals released running back Andre Ellington on Monday, a day after they listed the team’s 2013 sixth-round pick as a healthy scratch for a loss to the Houston Texans.

Ellington appeared in eight games so far this season, rushing 15 times for 53 yards and a touchdown. He was used primarily in passing situations as the Cardinals’ third-down back, and he reeled in 33 receptions for 297 yards.

He was most productive in his first two seasons with Arizona, tallying more than 650 rushing and 370 receiving yards in each before injuries began hurting his production.

Ellington became a free agent this past offseason and re-signed with the Cardinals on a one-year contract, but the shifty back struggled with drops over the course of 2017.

On Sunday in Houston, Arizona turned to second-year back and ASU product D.J. Foster at tailback, and head coach Bruce Arians alluded to the team giving him a bigger role moving forward.

“He’s been impressive since he’s been here,” Arians told Bickley & Marotta on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station Monday. “I was hoping — we had some things in there for him. We just never got to them in the game, but I like where he’s at.”

In wake of the Ellington release, Arizona also signed 5-foot-10, 215 pound running back Bronson Hill to the practice squad on Monday.

Hill spent 2016 with the Jacksonville Jaguars and was playing for the Minnesota Vikings from the preseason through Nov. 7, when he was released. The 24-year-old been on the practice squads for the Bears, Dolphins and Saints, and joined the Bills as an undrafted rookie out of Eastern Michigan in 2015.

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