Decision at running back looming for 2021 Arizona Cardinals
By Jim Koch
The running back position will be a top priority of the Arizona Cardinals front office when the 2021 offseason rolls around
The 2021 offseason will be a busy period of time for the Arizona Cardinals front office. General manager Steve Keim and his underlings will have decisions to make on a bevy of prospective free agents. A salary-cap number that’s expected to shrink will not make things any easier for the Cardinals management team.
One player who’s career with the Cards is hanging in the balance is running back Kenyan Drake. Last March, the 26-year old ball-carrier signed a transition tag tender that kept him in the desert for the 2020 campaign. Drake will collect $8.483 million this season, with hopes of parlaying his current deal into a multi-year contract in the coming months.
Whether that extension will be with Arizona remains to be seen. Drake was enjoying a good but not great year for the team before he suffered a potentially-serious ankle injury against the Seattle Seahawks three weeks ago. The 6’1, 211 pounder sat out the Cardinals week-nine loss to the Miami Dolphins, but there’s actually a chance he could return this weekend.
Filling in for Drake has been Chase Edmonds, the Cards third-year back out of Fordham University. There are a contingent of fans who believe that the 5’9, 205 pound Edmonds can carry the load going forward for the Redbirds. The 24-year old’s performance last week versus the Dolphins, however, may have very well placed some doubt into that theory.
Playing against an unusually stingy Miami defensive front, Edmonds carried the rock 25 times for just 70 yards. When you do the math, that averages out to a paltry 2.8 yards per carry. The Pennsylvania native added three receptions for another 18 yards, but failed to reach the end zone on the ground or through the air.
Drake’s contract demands, of course, will go a long way in deciding if the former Dolphins draft pick will be back with Arizona or not. Keim may be a bit gun-shy this time around, after paying David Johnson $39 million over three years back in 2018. Edmonds, by comparison, is scheduled to make an extremely affordable base salary of $920,000 in ’21.
The Cardinals roster could look much different next fall. Keim will certainly have his work cut out for him with a free agent group that’s peppered with starters. Drake will absolutely be among the club’s top priorities when next year’s offseason finally rolls around.