The Cardinals have learned that star running back Chris Johnson suffered a fractured tibia on Sunday, according to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Johnson will be be out for an extended period of time, but it’s not immediately clear exactly how long he will be sidelined. As Arizona looks ahead to Week 13, one has to imagine that Johnson’s regular season could be over and that could spill over into postseason territory as well.
Early reports on Sunday indicated that suffered a left knee injury, but it turns out that his injury happened below the knee. So far in 2015, the 30-year-old has enjoyed a resurgence that few imagined could be possible over the offseason. In 11 games (9 starts) for the Cards, Johnson has rushed for 814 yards and three scores off of 196 carries.
Last season for the Jets, Johnson ran for just 663 yards, the first time in his career he recorded fewer than 1,000 yards in a season. However, he averaged a respectable 4.3 yards per carry for Gang Green in 2014. Meanwhile, the ground game was a weak spot in Arizona last season, as the team’s leading rusher, Andre Ellington, totaled just 660 yards, averaging 3.3 yards per carry.
In October, the Cardinals went on record saying that they would look into an extension for CJ2K.
