The news the Cardinals feared has been confirmed: David Johnson is expected to miss most of the season.
Johnson, the Cardinals running back who may be their most important player, needs wrist surgery and is expected to miss two or three months and go on injured reserve, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Going on injured reserve means Johnson will miss at least eight weeks. If it turns out to be three months, he’ll miss 11 games. Given the way the Cardinals played on Sunday in Detroit, and how they’re likely to play without Johnson, it’s entirely possible that they’ll fall out of playoff contention and decide when Johnson is ready to return that it’s not worth risking him for the last few games of the season.
Johnson is coming off a tremendous 2016 season in which he led the NFL with 2,118 yards from scrimmage and 20 touchdowns. He’ll be very hard to replace for a Cardinals offense that already didn’t look very good on Sunday.