Edgerrin James ‘takes pride’ in his time spent with the Cardinals

A member of the 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame class, running back Edgerrin James recently talked about the part of his NFL career that was spent with the Arizona Cardinals.

After two straight years of rushing for over 1,500 yards with the Indianapolis Colts, the Arizona Cardinals managed to convince All-Pro running back Edgerrin James to sign with them during the 2006 offseason.

James never topped 1,500 rushing yards during his tenure with the Cardinals (1,222 in 2007 was the closest he came), but he was a member of the roster that helped the franchise reach its first-ever Super Bowl in 2008.

This summer, James will finally be immortalized and inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the 2020 class.

Edgerrin James proud of what the Arizona Cardinals accomplished during his tenure

James’ final season in Arizona is not one he’s going to remember for his own personal performance. But being a part of the Cardinals team that came so close to capturing a Super Bowl victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008 is something he will never forget.

Recently, James reflected on his time in Arizona and why he is happy with the decision he made to sign with the team in 2006.

"“I enjoyed my time with the Cardinals. The thing about going to the Cardinals and the thing I appreciated the most was a lot of people wouldn’t have taken that chance to go to a team that wasn’t doing well, a high-risk situation.I take pride in the decision that I made, knowing we turned that program around. We took that team to the Super Bowl. I don’t think anybody anticipated that. When you look at everything the Cardinals had in place, it was an easy decision for myself.”"

Did James truly take a chance on the Cardinals because of the roster they had, or was it mostly due to them being one of the few teams in the NFL that were willing to offer a 27-year-old running back a lucrative contract (four years, $30 million)?

It was probably a little bit of both, but Arizona was certainly happy to see him on the field in their uniform for three seasons.

Currently, James still has the fourth-highest per-game rushing yard average in Cardinals history. He also ranks 13th in NFL history with 12,246 career rushing yards.

James will officially be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, August 7 as part of the 2020 class that consists of 20 members.