RB James Conner visits Cardinals as free agent
Free-agent running back James Conner, who rushed for 2,302 yards and 22 touchdowns in four seasons with the Steelers, is visiting the Cardinals Monday and could be signed to share a role in the backfield with Chase Edmonds.
News of the visit first broke via the Doug & Wolf Show on Arizona Sports 98.7-FM. Jay Glazer of FOX Sports also reported that Conner was visiting Arizona on Monday.
Conner, 25, was a third-round pick by the Steelers out of the University of Pittsburgh in 2017. The following year, he stepped into a starting role when Le’Veon Bell held out because of a contract dispute and rushed for 973 yards and 12 touchdowns on 215 carries, earning a Pro Bowl selection.
Various injuries have prevented him from playing a full season. He appeared in 10 games in 2019, in which he rushed for 464 yards and four touchdowns on 116 carries. This past season, he appeared in 13 games and finished with 721 yards and six touchdowns on 169 carries.
He’s also caught 124 career passes for 963 yards and four touchdowns.
At 6-foot-1, 233 pounds, Conner could be an ideal fit for the Cardinals in that he offers a bigger, stronger compliment to the smaller and quicker Edmonds, who is 5-9, 210. The Cardinals did not re-sign starting running back Kenyan Drake, who left for the Raiders on a two-year deal worth $11 million.
General Manager Steve Keim and coach Kliff Kingsbury have both said they believe Edmonds can step into a No.1 role in 2021, but they have never ruled out bringing in extra competition.
“Chase having this opportunity is going to be huge for him,” Keim told reporters last month. “I think he’s shown the ability to be an excellent back in this league with his quickness and his run style. Again, we’ll continue to monitor those positions throughout the spring.”
Presently, there isn’t any experienced depth behind Edmonds on the roster. Jonathan Ward, Eno Benjamin and Khalfani Muhammad have zero NFL rushing attempts between them.
Conner played out the final year of his $3 million rookie deal and is an unrestricted free agent for the first time. He hasn’t drawn much interest from teams since hitting the market.
One of the reasons for that could be the fact that, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, Conner injured his toe while riding a recreational vehicle this offseason. He underwent surgery to repair a “very moderate turf-toe type of injury” and the procedure was performed by noted foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson.
Conner is expected to make a full recovery by June, according to Rapoport.
Notes
The Cardinals’ acquisition of wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins has been deemed as the best transaction in of sports in 2020, according to the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, which made the announcement during the group’s annual gathering on Friday.
The Sloan Analytics Conference has handed out its “Alpha Award” for the best transaction in sports since 2013 and this is the first year an NFL transaction has taken the honor.
The Cardinals acquired Hopkins in a trade with the Texans last March for running back David Johnson, a 2020 second-round pick and an exchange of 2020 fourth-round picks. Hopkins went on to rank second in the league in receptions last season with 115 and he finished third with 1,407 receiving yards.