Beanie Wells Injury: Updates on Cardinals RB's Status and Ryan Williams' Role

Arizona Cardinals running back Beanie Wells was a late addition to the injury report on Friday, but the four-year pro says he will play on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, according to Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic.

Somers tweeted on Friday:

"

Beanie Wells is listed as questionable with a hamstring but the #azcards RB said he's going to play.

— Kent Somers (@kentsomers) September 7, 2012"

UPDATE: Sunday, September 9 at 3:15 p.m. ET by Ben Chodos

Beannie Wells will officially be be on the field for the Cardinals in the season opener. 

Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com reported the news via Twitter. 

"

RB Beanie Wells is active today.

— Darren Urban (@Cardschatter) September 9, 2012"

The amount of action that Wells will see in this game still remains uncertain, and Ryan Williams will likely see plenty of action today. 

-----------END OF UPDATE----------

UPDATE: Sunday, September 9 at 10:30 a.m. by Timothy Rapp

For Beanie Wells owners, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that he will play on Sunday. The bad news is that it remains to be seen how many touches he will actually receive.

From Pat Kirwan of CBS:

"

it looks like Beanie Wells will go in ARI but I expect most carries for Ryan Williams, Marshawn Lynch will get 10-15 crries for Seattle

— Pat Kirwan (@PatKirwanCBS) September 9, 2012"

If you have Wells on your team, I would seriously consider benching him for Week 1, especially if you can roll with Williams. The running back situation in Arizona looks like it will be a fluid, week-to-week situation in terms of splitting carries and starts.

-----------END OF UPDATE----------

Wells looked good coming off a knee injury in the preseason finale against the Denver Broncos (seven carries, 35 yards), but he apparently tweaked his hamstring in practice.

Somers tweeted on Wednesday that he expected the carries between Wells and second-year pro Ryan Williams to be up for grabs in the Cardinals' backfield. Head coach Ken Whisenhunt has indicated that he will go with whoever is hot.

Wells rushed for over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns last season (averaging 4.3 yards per carry), despite not having the most beneficial quarterback situation. It was a breakout season for the 24-year-old.

On the other hand, the Cardinals spent a second-round pick on Williams last year before he was knocked out of the season with a ruptured patella tendon in his right knee. The Virginia Tech product was highly touted in the 2011 NFL draft. As a redshirt freshman with the Hokies, he rushed for over 1,600 yards and 21 touchdowns. The following season, he missed four games after injuring his right hamstring.

The Cardinals are looking to bounce back from an 8-8 season. They lost six of their first seven games last season, but finished 7-2 in their final nine games.

There are still questions about the team's quarterback situation, with John Skelton starting over last year's expensive offseason acquisition, Kevin Kolb.