Nothing has happened this offseason to change the situation for the Arizona Cardinals at running back. Kenyan Drake has not re-signed and has not said he will not re-sign. The Cardinals have not agreed to trade David Johnson and have not even said he is being shopped.
However, as free agency approaches, it feels like Johnson will be back and Drake will end up signing elsewhere.
If that is going to happen, then the team will want everyone feeling positive to that situation. General manager Steve Keim certainly is speaking that way.
When he spoke at the NFL combine, he was very positive about what he believes Johnson can do in 2020 with the team.
“He’s a guy who’s shown he can do it,” he said. “I think because of the success that Kenyan had, because of the success Chase (Edmonds) had, I think that’s something that will be a chip on his shoulder. He’s going to want to come back and play well and again because of his skill set, he’s such a big talented athlete, we certainly think he can jump back in and do some good things for us.”
Both Keim and head coach Kliff Kingsbury have spoken positively about how hard Johnson works.
Drake and Edmonds both had big games for the Cardinals in 2019.
Johnson, before his ankle injury, never put up big rushing numbers last season, but when he had more than 15 carries, he was effective. In six games before his injury, he had three games of more than 100 yards from scrimmage.
If Drake does not return, It is possible for Johnson to be impactful again.
More importantly, he needs to feel like the team believes he can, because if the Cardinals enter 2020 with him as the starter, it needs to feel like it isn’t disappointing.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.
Ep. 260
Ep. 259
