Cardinals RB suffers season-ending injury

Days after the Cardinals brought in Marlon Mack, they will lose the veteran running back. Another Achilles injury is set to sideline Mack, with Jonathan Gannon indicating the recent free-agent pickup is out for the season, via AZCardinals.com’s Darren Urban. The Cardinals have placed Mack on IR.

This brings another major blow for Mack, whose career was once altered by an Achilles tear. Mack’s potential for a decent free-agency payday slipped away after he suffered the tear in September 2020. The former 1,000-yard rusher has struggled to carve out roles since.

That 2020 injury opened the door for Jonathan Taylor in Indianapolis and abruptly ended Mack’s prime. While the ex-fourth-round pick has signed several one-year contracts since, he has not been used in a similar capacity since the initial Achilles setback. Mack, 27, spent last season with the Broncos and 49ers.

After gaining 1,091 rushing yards in 2019, Mack saw the Colts use a second-round pick on Taylor the following April. The Colts still re-signed Mack in 2021 but did so on a one-year, $2M agreement. Mack signed another one-year, $2M pact — with the Texans — in 2022, but Houston cut him prior to setting its 53-man roster. Mack has gained only 185 rushing yards since going down early in his Colts contract year.

Mack was set to vie for a backup job behind James Conner. The Cardinals have 2022 sixth-rounder Keaontay Ingram, Corey Clement and Ty’Son Williams as options. They also worked out Damien Williams recently. With Mack down, Arizona may be on the lookout for another veteran.