With the Arizona Cardinals heading into a crucial Monday Night Football matchup, will they (and fantasy football managers) have RB Chase Edmonds available as he continues his return from an ankle injury? What is the latest news regarding Edmonds’ availability tonight, should we expect to see him, and what does his potential return mean for fantasy managers?
Update:Â The Cardinals have not activated RB Chase Edmonds ahead of their Monday Night Football game in Week 14.
Is Chase Edmonds playing tonight against the Rams?
The Cardinals placed Edmonds on injured reserve (IR) back in Week 10 after suffering a high-ankle sprain. A high-ankle sprain usually sidelines a player for at least a couple of weeks, depending on the severity. Therefore, the Cardinals decided to take the somewhat simpler approach of putting Edmonds on IR.
When a player is placed on IR, he must remain there for a minimum of three games. That phrasing of three games, as opposed to three weeks, is significant given the Cardinals had a Week 12 bye. That meant Edmonds was not eligible to return until Week 14 at the earliest.
On Thursday, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported that Edmonds was being designated to return by the Cardinals. That is usually a good indication that a team feels the player will return for the next game. Several times this season, a player has been designated to return to practice and then plays the following game.
However, just because he was designated to return does not mean Edmonds will definitely play in Week 14. The Cardinals have 21 days from Thursday to add Edmonds to their 53-man roster. If they do not before that date, he reverts to season-ending IR. The Cardinals have until 4 PM ET on Monday, December 13, to add Edmonds to the 53-man roster if he is to have a chance to play tonight.
Arizona’s RB had been having a solid season
Many expected Edmonds to be the lead back when Kenyan Drake left the Cardinals last offseason. However, the acquisition of James Conner put a damper on that. Edmonds has certainly seen an increase in his role in 2021, but not to the extent many expected.
If you exclude the game he was injured on the first snap in Week 9, Edmonds has averaged 9.5 rush attempts and 3.8 receptions per game. Both of those are an increase in his previous seasons in Arizona. His previous career highs were 6.1 rush attempts and 3.3 receptions per game in 2020.
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Even though the increase in touches has been relatively modest, the performance increase has been greater. Edmonds has gone from averaging 28 rush yards per game to over 50 yards per game in 2021.
Edmonds’ total yards per game have increased from 53.1 to 80.1 in 2021. He is having the best year of his career, but still perhaps underwhelming fantasy managers who were hoping for consistent RB1 numbers.
Can fantasy managers trust Edmonds in Week 14?
This is a tough one for fantasy managers — we don’t know how much of a role Edmonds will play. He could simply slot back into the role he had, with Conner as the lead back and Edmonds providing the change of pace. However, the Cardinals could also decide to ride Conner one more week and ease Edmonds back in with a similar workload to Eno Benjamin in recent weeks.
That would concern Edmonds’ fantasy managers, as Benjamin has averaged just 5.75 rush attempts and 0.75 targets per game in Edmonds’ absence. However, that would be wonderful news for Conner’s fantasy managers, who are perhaps viewing the return of Edmonds with trepidation.
Overall, it’s tough to know whether to trust Edmonds this week. Most likely, you have already made this decision at this point. Nonetheless, if you still have a choice to make, be sure to check whether PFN’s fantasy team believes you should start or sit Conner and Edmonds in Week 14, or whether Rams RB Sony Michel might actually be a better fantasy option with Darrell Henderson potentially missing Week 14.
*Stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless otherwise stated
