The Arizona Cardinals front office may ultimately regret the $21 million contract they handed James Conner this past offseason.
When the Arizona Cardinals signed James Conner back in April of 2021, the acquisition kind of flew under the radar. The physical running back was coming off of a solid campaign with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but NFL teams weren’t exactly knocking down the door for the unrestricted free agent.
As it turned out, the Cards got one heck of a bargain with the fiery Conner. The 6 foot 1, 230 pounder amassed 1,127 yards from scrimmage and totaled a whopping 18 touchdowns last season. Conner accomplished all of that for an Arizona squad that was paying him a paltry $1.75 million on a one-year deal.
This past offseason, the Cardinals front office decided to give Conner some payback on a performance that culminated with a trip to the Pro Bowl. This time around, the club signed the ball-carrier to a three-year, $21 million contract. Unfortunately, the money that the Redbirds doled out to the oft-injured Conner are funds that may have been better spent elsewhere.
The Arizona Cardinals were expecting much more out of James Conner in 2022
Back in Week 5, Conner suffered a rib injury during a 20-17 loss to the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles. The Cards have played three games since then, and the 27-year-old has not suited up for any of them. There’s also a possibility that Conner will miss this weekend’s crucial matchup with the NFC West-leading Seattle Seahawks.
Even before his setback against the Eagles, Conner wasn’t exactly lighting the world on fire with his play. In his five appearances, the veteran has rushed for 200 yards and is averaging a mediocre 3.7 yards per carry. Conner scored two touchdowns during Arizona’s opening-day loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, but failed to find the end zone even once in the four contests that followed.
There’s plenty of time for the Pennsylvania native to prove to the franchise that he’s worthy of the generosity they showed him back in March. For now, the Cardinals can only hope that the Conner extension was nothing but another huge mistake by the organization.
(Statistics provided by Pro Football Reference)
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