The top five running backs in the 27 seasons of Arizona/Phoenix Cardinals football
With the running back position back in the spotlight for the Arizona Cardinals, I thought it would be a good time to look at my top five running backs in the franchise’s history since moving to Arizona 27 seasons ago.
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This is just all my opinion so please feel free to comment and add your own if I’m missing one you think should have made the list. My number one will probably make most lists though.
1. Edgerrin James
He played in 45 games for the Cardinals and rushed for 2,895 yards in those three seasons in Arizona. He also had 506 yards rushing in his short time in the desert. He scored 16 touchdowns as a Cardinal.
He was arguably the biggest free agent the Cardinals had signed to date when then head coach Denny Green snagged him in 2006. He immediately brought legitimacy to the desert. People took notice when James left his home with the Indianapolis Colts with quarterback Peyton Manning and came to Arizona. It certainly raised eyebrows around the league and quite honestly stunned Cardinals fans that they were finally able to land that big name free agent.
Of course they got him towards the end of his career. That’s not something foreign to the Cardinals. Towards the end of the 2008 season he started falling out of favor of then head coach Ken Whisenhunt. He went through a stretch of five games where he had no more than four carries in any of them. He did manage 261 yards in the playoffs that year though. He was done as a Cardinal after that. After his three seasons in Arizona, he finished his career off with the Seattle Seahawks.
Best Cardinals season: 2007: rushed for 1,222 yards and 7 touchdowns
Best Cardinals game: vs. Seattle September 16, 2007: 24 carries, 128 yards, and a touchdown