Former Arizona Cardinals running back Chris Johnson recently told SI.com that he would be interested in a return to Arizona for a chance to win a Super Bowl
Up until now, the Arizona Cardinals have not shown much interest in bringing back running back Chris Johnson. Johnson’s 2016 season ended prematurely with a groin injury.
Appearing on SI Now on Tuesday, CJ2K talked about his speed and his record being beaten by receiver John Ross at the scouting combine in February. He also talked about the Cardinals being a possible destination in 2017.
CJ2K is currently a free agent. When asked which team he would prefer to go to if he could not be one of two featured starters, he brought up the Cardinals first given his familiarity with the playbook.
It makes sense for him to want to come back to where he has spent the past two seasons. Part of the problem in coming to Arizona, he very well may not be the number two guy. He would have to fight for being the number three guy at best.
It was originally thought (and reported) that he wasn’t interested in joining a team unless he could be guaranteed to be the starter or number two back. His comments on Tuesday suggest otherwise.
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What he is likely finding out is that many teams are set and are not in a position to give an aging back a top of the depth chart position. From that standpoint, then why not look to Arizona for a possible return?
He missed much of the 2016 season after injuring his groin in week four against the Los Angeles Rams on October 2nd. He did complete his healing however and was eligible to return off the injured reserve in early December.
However, despite his being cleared to play, the Cardinals decided to keep him on injured reserve and bring back safety Tyvon Branch. Branch ultimately returned but re-injured himself, with the same groin injury CJ2K had, and went right back on injured reserve.
In 2017, teams are now going to be allowed to return two players from injured reserve. For CJ2K though, it is one year too late. For now, all he wants is an opportunity to win a Super Bowl and rush for 10,000-yards for his career.
For Cardinals fans, its a nice thought. If August comes rolling around and he is without a team, why not give him a shot? It worked in 2015.