3 free agent do-overs for Arizona Cardinals from 2023
By Sion Fawkes
3 - Sign D’Ernest Johnson, RB
Another former member of the Cleveland Browns, D’Ernest Johnson showed us he was more than worth becoming a legitimate RB2 in 2021 when he rushed for 534 yards on 100 carries, and 5.3 yards per carry. In 2020, Johnson also impressed, rushing for 166 yards on 33 attempts, good for 5.0 yards per rush.
He saw very little time in 2022, but his numbers from previous seasons would have been more than enough to convince me to sign him, but he will instead be playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Had Ossenfort brought Johnson or someone like him to the desert, the Arizona Cardinals would have a lethal one-two combo at running back, with James Conner providing RB1 duties.
Overall, I’m a big fan of Ossenfort’s draft first, supplemented with free agency strategy, and it will pay dividends over time. But he could have added a few small-time names to the Redbirds this season and perhaps even for 2024, and they would have played prominent roles at their respective positions given the current state of the roster.
(Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference, salary info provided by SpoTrac)
feed