Team news: Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Page 49

It’s clear Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson is not the same player he was in 2016.

After a fumble in the 30-27 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he didn’t get another touch. Johnson, once a staple of the offense, was not on the field during crunch time.

Instead, newcomer Kenyan Drake, just two games into his Cardinals career, was the one who got a handoff out of the shotgun on the first play of the final drive of the game.

Related players: Chase Edmonds

The Cardinals acknowledged Johnson not getting any touches after the fumble was a coach's decision. The story said Johnson has been slower this year and not hitting the holes like he did in the past. The story added when Edmonds returns, Johnson's role will be a huge question, as if it's not already. Johnson doesn't exactly look like a safe play heading into Week 11 even if Edmonds has to sit again.

Giants WR Sterling Shepard (concussion) and TE Evan Engram (foot) will not play Sunday against the Jets.

This is not much of a surprise. Shephard is effectively on the concussion protocol for a third time after being taken off and put back on in a span of about a day last weekend and Engram saw a foot specialist during the week. As has been the case for many weeks this season, it'll be mainly Golden Tate and Saquon Barkley surrounding Daniel Jones. But they are facing a bad Jets team and are effectively playing a home game (Giants are considered the road team in this game). You could do worse in a week with six teams on a bye.

Cardinals RB David Johnson (ankle) practiced in full for the second consecutive day while Chase Edmonds (hamstring) missed a second day of practice this week.

Some positives for Arizona with Johnson inching closer to a return with two straight full practices while Chase Edmonds continues to recover from his hamstring injury. Arizona got a very nice debut from Kenyan Drake against the 49ers in Week 9 and gives them a safety net at the position. Fantasy owners were obviously disappointed in the usage of Johnson when it seemed he was good to go, but all signs are starting to point toward DJ being back in the lineup and ready to roll against the Buccaneers. Drake will likely have an active role as well with Edmonds' status not looking good for Week 10 off the heels of his 100-yard rushing performance against one of the league's best run defenses in San Francisco.