The Arizona Cardinals have offered running back Chris Johnson a free agent contract and he could sign a deal with the team over options like the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans and San Francisco 49ers, as the Cards could use some depth with Andre Ellington and David Johnson on the depth chart in training camp ahead of Stepfan Taylor.
Johnson has been on the free agent market all offseason and now Dianna Marie Russini of ESPN reports that he has a contract offer. Russini writes that the team has offered Johnson a one year deal on a contract and that people should "stay tuned" to see if he says yes. Johnson could be trying to find a better deal if this is for the minimum, but so far he has not had much attention on the market. The Cardinals rushing game dealt with injuries last season and it had a tough time getting things going once Carson Palmer went down.
The Cardinals became too predictable and with Ellington injury prone, the team may want some more depth at the position. Ellington, David Johnson, Marion Grice and Kerwynn Williams make up the depth chart now and the team could bring in Johnson for some support. Last season Johnson had 663 yards and just one touchdown for the Jets and that was his lowest season of production in his career. Johnson played in all 16 games and he reportedly is healthy after dealing with an injury issue earlier in the offseason.
The Cowboys reportedly had "some" contract with Johnson, but no deal ever came close to happening. Ellington comes in after missing time in each of the last two seasons and last year he rushed for 660 yards in 12 games. The team added Johnson in the draft this year and now this Johnson could be an option for some more depth as a free agent.
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The team is ready to step forward on offense, as Palmer is healthy after knee surgery and the backfield has a solid one-two punch with starters Andre Ellington and rookie David Johnson. Ellington was banged up for part of last season and he is dealing with a hamstring issue and camp and that could help Johnson, as the Arizona Republic reports that he could be a good option as a dual threat out of the backfield.