Beanie Wells Released by Arizona Cardinals

In a busy day of transactions around the NFL, the Arizona Cardinals have decided to release running back Beanie Wells. The news comes from none other than Wells himself, who took to Twitter with this message on Monday afternoon:

Wells has spent his entire professional career with the Cardinals, the team that selected him in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft.

The running back enjoyed a strong rookie campaign in 2009, putting up 936 yards from scrimmage. He would be hampered by injuries in 2010, but returned to form in 2011, rushing for 1,047 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Unfortunately, Wells has been out of Arizona's long-term plans for some time now. The Cardinals took running back Ryan Williams in the 2011 draft, and he made three starts in the 2012 season before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 5. 

Because of the injury to Williams, Wells ended up starting seven games for the Cardinals last season, averaging a disappointing 2.7 yards per carry. His season high for rushing yards in a game was just 67 against Detroit, and he needed 17 carries to reach that total. 

Before the Cardinal's final game of the season, Wells was quoted as saying, "I'm just going to go out there and put my best foot forward for all the 31 other teams that's watching." 

It's safe to assume Monday's announcement didn't come as a surprise to Wells, but it remains to be seen which of those "31 other teams" is interested in bringing him on board.