Andre Ellington's Fantasy Owners Shouldn't Panic over Foot Injury

The fantasy football world was shaken up in a big way on Friday morning when Mike Jurecki of Fox Sports reported that Arizona Cardinals running back Andre Ellington may miss time due to a foot injury suffered in practice:

This is where many of Ellington's fantasy owners began to panic. The words "extended period of time" sent chills down their spines and thoughts of a busted fantasy season racing through their heads. Not so fast.

For one thing, we still don't know the full extent of Ellington's injury. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport tweeted his take:

Now, that's not quite as scary, is it?

Even if Ellington is forced to miss a few weeks, that doesn't prevent him from potentially becoming a fantasy team's catalyst for the rest of the season.

After all, this is still the same ball-carrier who rushed for 652 yards and three touchdowns on 118 carries while adding 39 receptions for 371 yards and another score just one season ago.

ESPN Stats & Info revealed exactly how impressive those numbers really are:

"

Arizona's Andre Ellington underwent MRI yesterday (foot). His 5.53 yds per rush last season were most in NFL by any player (min. 100 rushes)

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 5, 2014"

Ellington's impressive showing last year propelled him up the running back ranks and made him a very sexy pick in either the second or third rounds of fantasy drafts. Rest assured, he will live up to those lofty expectations once healthy.

Why? Perhaps a quick trip back in time is necessary. This is what head coach Bruce Arians had to say about his running back during the offseason, via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com:

Backing up Ellington in Arizona are Jonathan Dwyer and Stepfan Taylor. To put it simply: Dwyer outplayed Taylor in the preseason after spending four rather forgettable seasons in Pittsburgh—he found the end zone a total of two times in that span.

Neither of these running backs is capable of sustaining a prolific ground game going forward.

Let's say Ellington's MRI results aren't favorable, and the running back is forced to miss a few weeks. Arizona's bye is during Week 4, so that's a plus—he gets more time to rest without hurting his fantasy owners further—and FFToday.com indicates the team's remaining schedule is favorable for the second-year player:

Week	Opponent	2013 Rank vs. RB
5	Denver Broncos	18th
6	Washington Redskins	29th
7	Oakland Raiders	28th
8	Philadelphia Eagles	12th
9	Dallas Cowboys	32nd
10	St. Louis Rams	27th
11	Detroit Lions	6th
12	Seattle Seahawks	2nd
13	Atlanta Falcons	25th
14	Kansas City Chiefs	16th
15	St. Louis Rams	27th
16	Seattle Seahawks	2nd
17	San Francisco 49ers	10th

Once Ellington is back in the fold, expect Arians to quickly make him a big part of Arizona's offensive scheme—as was originally planned.

With so may of the team's late-season opponents struggling against dual-threat backs last season, it shouldn't be a surprise when he starts putting up big numbers.

For now, roll with someone else this week. Grab Dwyer off the waiver wire if need be, and keep treading water with Ellington on your bench until he returns. Your patience will be heavily rewarded.