Cardinals RB David Johnson yet to be cleared after wrist injury

Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson has not yet been cleared to return from a wrist injury that he suffered in early September.

While that means he may not be ready for a voluntary veteran mini-camp on April 17, first-year head coach Steve Wilks said Johnson should be ready to go by the time the heavy lifting begins for next season.

“He’s in the process of getting cleared,” Wilks told reporters at the NFL league meetings in Orlando on Tuesday, per AZCardinals.com’s Darren Urban. “By the time we start OTAs, he should be ready to go.”

Organized team activities (OTAs) begin on May 15.

If there’s any indication that Johnson is close to being cleared, his offseason work that he’s posted to social media would hint that the dislocated wrist suffered in a Week 1 loss to the Detroit Lions won’t put the running back behind to begin next season. Johnson underwent surgery a week later, and the team left the door open for his return later in the season.

Johnson posted a video of himself lifting 100-pound weights just last week.

Wrist feeling better than ever! 100lbsx3 dynamic effort #Lightwork pic.twitter.com/mGKbn1pSAV

— David Johnson (@DavidJohnson31) March 22, 2018

Under offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, the defensive-minded Wilks said he’s expected to lean heavily on the ground game behind a revamped offensive line and with a completely new group of quarterbacks led by starter Sam Bradford.

With that in mind, Wilks suggested the year off has Johnson fresh for a season in which the Cardinals will put an even heavier running workload on the dynamic back.

Johnson has video evidence that he’s not let leg day pass him by as he’s sat out with the wrist injury.

…..🏃🏽‍♂️💨 pic.twitter.com/7dVsKQPaTp

— David Johnson (@DavidJohnson31) March 23, 2018

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