TEMPE, Ariz. -- Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson left no doubt Wednesday on his status for Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after missing the last two games with an ankle injury.
"I'm definitely playing," Johnson said. "I'm definitely playing. I'm good. I'm ready to go," Johnson said.
Johnson, who went on the injury report with the ankle injury leading into the Cardinals' Week 7 game at the New York Giants, said he's at "100 percent." Earlier Wednesday, coach Kliff Kingsbury said Johnson was "close" but that he wanted to see "full-speed cuts and comfort level" in order to decide whether Johnson can play at Tampa Bay.
"Hopefully we see what we want this week and we can get him back out there," Kingsbury said.
Johnson was listed by the Cardinals as a full participant for Wednesday's practice.
On Monday, Kingsbury said the Cardinals will be "smart" with Johnson whenever he's back and "make sure we don't give him the ball 40 times or anything like that, just get his game conditioning back."
Johnson played just three snaps against the Giants on Oct. 20 and hasn't played since.
He went through a series of pregame exercises with trainers to determine whether he could play Thursday night against the San Francisco 49ers but was inactive.
"I was close," Johnson said. "But I was listening to the trainers, and I knew they had my best interest and they knew what was smart."
With Johnson dealing with the ankle injury after working through a back injury, and fellow running back Chase Edmonds out with a hamstring injury and D.J. Foster on injured reserve, also with a hamstring injury, the Cardinals traded for running back Kenyan Drake from the Miami Dolphins on Oct. 28. In his first game with Arizona three days later on Thursday night, he ran for 110 yards and a touchdown while catching four passes for 52 yards, instantly creating competition for touches in the backfield.
Kingsbury said Monday that it'll be "great" to have two "very talented" running backs who can run and catch. He added that he'll have to find a way to utilize them both.
Johnson called him and Drake "different weapons" on Wednesday.
"I think he's a guy who can also catch the ball that I've heard," Johnson said. "And so just bringing different variations to the offense, different weapons, ways to get the balls in both of our hands, and being utilized when we're both on the field, it's going to be tough on defenses."