The Arizona Cardinals have a new challenge offensively. They have had to adjust to a new quarterback with Josh Dobbs. Now they have lost running back James Conner for at least the next four weeks, as he was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury.
That puts two young backs in focus as the guys to hopefully produce.
Keaontay Ingram, in his second NFL season, and undrafted rookie Emari Demercado now sit atop the Cardinals’ depth chart and they will likely be the first guys given the opportunity to handle the load.
Ingram has missed the last two games with a neck injury but should play this week. He looked great in training camp.
Demercado isn’t special at any particular thing but can do everything pretty well. He scored his first NFL touchdown last week and, after some very short gains after Conner got hurt, has runs of eight, nine and 11 yards, the final one getting into the end zone.
They have veterans Damien Williams and Corey Clement on the practice squad and added Tony Jones this week on a waiver claim, but Clement is mostly a special teams player, Williams is 31 years old and Jones has a career 2.8-yard per-carry average.
So if the Cardinals can maintain a productive running game, it will depend on the young guys. It is a big opportunity for them.
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