It was known it was going to happen, but on Monday the Arizona Cardinals announced running back Andre Ellington's season has come to a close, as he was placed on season-ending injured reserve. To replace him on the 53-man roster, the team signed safety Chris Clemons.
Clemons (6-1, 215) is a five-year NFL veteran who has played in 72 career games with 48 starts with the Miami Dolphins (2009-13) and has 256 tackles (187 solo), 1.5 sacks, four interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He started all 32 games with the Dolphins the past two seasons (2012-13), including in 2013 when he recorded 90 tackles (60 solo) and one interception.
Clemons entered the league with the Dolphins as a fifth round selection (165th overall) in the 2009 NFL Draft out of Clemson. He signed with Houston this past offseason, but was released on September 1.
Clemons will wear jersey #29.
There is familiarity with the defense. He played under Todd Bowles when he was a defensive backs coach there in Miami.
The team needs the depth at defensive back. With Antonio Cromartie's ankle injury keeping him day-to-day, Arizona only has six healthy defensive backs. They play six DBs in nickel/dime packages, which would leave no one on the bench in case there were an injury.
Don't expect Clemons to play. He is an insurance policy in the case another player goes down.
In another move, Arizona lose defensive tackle Bruce Gaston from the practice squad, who was signed by the Packers to their 53-man roster.
Arizona also added a pair of players to the practice squad -- guard John Fullington and receiver Travis Harvey.
Fullington (6-5, 300) entered the league with the Packers as an undrafted rookie free agent in May out of Washington State and was released on August 30. He spent the first five weeks of the season on the 49ers practice squad before being released on October 7. Fullington started 43 consecutive games at Washington State, tied for the longest streak in program history by an offensive lineman.
Harvey (6-2, 185) signed with the Titans as a rookie free agent in 2013 out of Florida A&M, but was released during training camp. He spent this preseason with the Giants and has been on Bills and Giants practice squads this season. At Florida A&M, Harvey played in 11 games (10 starts) as a senior in 2012 and caught 64 passes for a team-leading 808 yards and seven touchdowns.