GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Insurance is there for when it’s needed.
Consider the Arizona Cardinals' signing of Chris Johnson on Monday them cashing it in.
Adding Johnson gave the Cardinals room to exhale while rookie running back David Johnson slowly returns from hamstring injury and learns everything he’s missed while sitting out the past two weeks. Since Johnson and starter Andre Ellington went down the first week of training camp, along with backup Marion Grice, the Cardinals had just four healthy running backs in camp.
David Johnson might have returned to the field Monday in a limited role, but he’s not close to being ready to become an every-down backup for Ellington. This is why Chris Johnson was the ideal insurance policy for the Cardinals.
He’s a veteran heading into his eighth year with five 1,000-yard seasons and one 2,000-yard campaign bolstering his resume. Chris Johnson understands how to pick up an NFL scheme -- and do it quickly.
David Johnson is still digesting the size of an NFL playbook.
"It’s a lot more stuff I have to try to watch, a lot more stuff I have to try to dissect and learn," David Johnson said. "Just having to spend more time in the meeting room and spend more time on my iPad learning plays.
"Every little thing can be tweaked. Every concept can be changed from one player to three. And me being able to also be split out is something else that I’m learning and trying to get better at."
Despite notching career lows last season with the New York Jets, Chris Johnson is at the point in his career where he’s not thinking when he runs. He just reacts and hits the hole. With less than a month until the season opener, David Johnson won’t be at that level by Week 1 -- or even possibly by midseason.
While David Johnson is learning the offense, Chris Johnson will be a suitable option to take any available reps. And if Chris Johnson returns to his 2013 form when he ran for 1,077 yards, he can take the workload off Ellington, allowing him to be a specialty back. If Chris Johnson explodes this season, he could be the Cardinals’ first 1,000-yard rusher since 2011 when Beanie Wells ran for 1,047 yards. More importantly is that Chris Johnson is durable. He's missed just one game in his career, and it came during his rookie season.
Only time and health will tell what Chris Johnson’s role will be -- his and others.
If Chris Johnson isn’t fully recovered from the March shooting that he was involved in, he might end up being just a camp body. If he’s healthy, Chris Johnson gives Arizona another dynamic option in the backfield. And if the injury bug strikes Ellington or David Johnson again, Arizona already has its insurance policy on the roster.
"It gives coach a lot of options when you have guys that can do a lot of things," Ellington said. "So, the sky’s the limit for the offense. We just added another big asset and we’re ready."