Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
The Arizona Cardinals know that they need to improve their running game from last season and that Carson Palmer needs as much support as he can get. Palmer is coming off of a torn ACL last season, and Andre Ellington simply didn’t get the job done during the 2014 season. They appear to have a player in mind who they believe can help them this year and have reportedly offered veteran free agent running back Chris Johnson a contract.
The Cardinals are pursuing RB Chris Johnson. They have offered him a 1 year deal per sources. Stay tuned to see if he says yes. #Cardinals
— Dianna Marie Russini (@diannaESPN) August 11, 2015
Johnson was a superstar during the majority of his career with the Tennessee Titans, but he wasn’t very good last season with the New York Jets. He still has some speed left in his legs, but he needs the right situation in order to succeed moving forward.
During the 2014 season with the Jets, Johnson ended up carrying the football 155 times for 663 yards and just one touchdown. He wasn’t given the starting job, and the numbers weren’t terrible for the usage that he did end up receiving. Arizona would be the perfect situation for Johnson to get his career back on track, and there is absolutely no reason why he shouldn’t accept the deal.
Ellington would compete with him for the starting job, but after his inconsistent 2014 season his future is extremely uncertain.
At 29 years old, Johnson still has a few good seasons of football left in him. Throughout his seven-year NFL career, Johnson has rushed for 1,000 or more yards in all but one season. That season was last year with the Jets, and he is more than capable of getting back to that level of play and becoming a legitimate 1,000-yard back with the Cardinals.
That being said, there are a few other teams that are likely to have interest in signing him. The Dallas Cowboys have reportedly had conversations with him, but Jerry Jones hasn’t made a contract offer at this point in time. Johnson could be looking around a little bit more to see if any other offers are on the table, but the Cardinals are likely to be his best option.
Arizona was one of the best teams in the NFL for a good chunk of last season, and the only reason they slowed down was because of injury issues. They are expected to be a very solid team once again this season under head coach Bruce Arians, and adding a ground threat like Johnson would help them towards that goal.
Evan Massey is a featured writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Massey_Evan and like him on Facebook.
