Cardinals' Stepfan Taylor: Expected to have expanded role

Taylor is expected to have an expanded role in the Cardinals' offense due to injuries to fellow running backs Chris Johnson (knee) and Andre Ellington (toe), the team's official site reports.

David Johnson has already been anointed the top RB, if the veteran Johnson and Ellington require time to recover, but that duo's breakdown of reps to this point in the season implies that another player will get in on the action. As the only option remaining on the 53-man roster Sunday at San Francisco, Taylor picked up seven snaps after the third-quarter departures of Chris Johnson and Ellington, taking his only carry for two yards. In parts of three seasons with the Cardinals, Taylor has displayed ability as both a runner and pass-catcher, averaging 3.2 YPC and hauling in 19 of 25 targets across 41 games. His eventual workload this Sunday in St. Louis will be contingent upon the health of the veteran backs typically in front of him.