Arizona Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals: David Johnson Sprained MCL, Won't Need Surgery

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:58 p.m. ET

Fansided, Joe Soriano/FanSided via NFL Spin Zone

Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson was carted off the field in Week 17, but he has luckily avoided a severe injury.

Not much went right for the Arizona Cardinals in the 2016 season, as the team finished with a 7-8-1 record after being a popular Super Bowl pick in the preseason. Their campaign wasn’t as disappointing as the Carolina Panthers’, but the Cardinals finished the year about five fewer wins than where most people predicted them.

Several stars like Carson Palmer and John Brown failed to meet expectations in 2016, but one player who matched every superlative was David Johnson. After a fantastic rookie season as an all-purpose back, Johnson established himself as a top-three player at the position and the team’s most important building block going forward.

Yesterday against the Los Angeles Rams, that building block went down with what looked like a severe knee injury. Johnson was carted off the field, and the injury looked gruesome.

Fears of an ACL tear were calmed yesterday, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Johnson’s ACL was “intact”.

Monday’s MRI has apparently revealed that Johnson is indeed in the clear, because Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians relayed that the running back merely tore his MCL and will not need surgery.

Although the Cardinals season is over, this is fantastic news for both Johnson and the team. A length rehab stint is not easy, and that’s not even factoring in the emotional trauma of suffering a severe injury.

Johnson should pick up where he left off in 2017 as one of the NFL’s brightest stars. This year, he ran for 1,239 yards on 293 carries as a workhorse, catching 80 passes for 879 yards and four touchdowns to boot. It’s fair to say that Johnson was the second-best receiver on the team behind Larry Fitzgerald, and there are several receivers who would be envious of his numbers, including his average of 11.0 yards per reception.