Andre Ellington, Marion Grice's Instant Fantasy Reaction After Week 10

Arizona Cardinals running back Andre Ellington has produced rather well in 2014 despite the team's low-ranked rushing offense, mostly thanks to his pass-catching prowess out of the backfield.

That skill helped Ellington avoid what would have otherwise been an underwhelming fantasy outing in the Cardinals' Week 10 31-14 victory over the St. Louis Rams.

Name	CAR	YDS	REC	YDS	TD	Fantasy Points
Andre Ellington	18	23	5	19	1 (rush)	9
Marion Grice	1	1	0	0	0	0

Stepfan Taylor was out of action with a calf injury at University of Phoenix Stadium on Sunday, so rookie sixth-round pick Marion Grice saw abbreviated playing time after scoring a touchdown last week.

It's a bit premature to deem Grice as the surefire handcuff option to Ellington, because whenever Taylor returns, he figures to be Arizona's No. 2 back.

Mike Clay of Pro Football Focus did well to describe the most interesting day Ellington has had on the gridiron:

In any event, the Cardinals' backfield may be charged with bigger responsibilities after starting quarterback Carson Palmer reportedly tore his ACL versus St. Louis, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport:

This news is ominous, though backup Drew Stanton filled in for Palmer early in the season and made the difference-making touchdown pass to John Brown in Sunday's NFC West showdown. Nevertheless, this figures to only bolster Ellington's status as an RB1.

Until his role expands, Grice is a fantasy afterthought, but Ellington has been dealing with foot pain all year long.

Should Ellington go down, perhaps Grice could take over the feature role on a temporary basis, but Ellington's dynamic quickness in the open field has aided his production immensely.