RB Conner re-signs with Cards

[Ronin]

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[BritCard]

Conner and Donald rushing the passer. Maybe Conner can replace CJ?

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[Ronin]

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[Ronin]

Yates: RB James Conner back to the Cardinals. I'm thrilled for Conner, who just kept finding the end zone last season and emerged as a leader for the Cardinals. The part that I'm more skeptical of is the money involved, as Conner's deal makes him the 10th-highest paid back in the league. That felt like a premium for a player who finished 27th in the league in rushing yards and 43rd in yards per carry.

NFL experts debate free agency: Best bargain deals, most head-scratching signings and our favorite moves

The biggest moves in free agency are over, so our experts are here to break it all down.

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[cardncubfan]

NFL experts debate free agency: Best bargain deals, most head-scratching signings and our favorite moves

The biggest moves in free agency are over, so our experts are here to break it all down.

www.espn.com

Well at first he was mostly used as a short yardage goal line back. If the guy would have looked at the games he would have known that.

 

[SoonerLou]

Well at first he was mostly used as a short yardage goal line back. If the guy would have looked at the games he would have known that.

TBF his YPC stayed about the same once he started getting RB1 carries.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

TBF his YPC stayed about the same once he started getting RB1 carries.

Yeah anyone claiming his YPC wasn’t just his YPC isn’t being honest with themselves. Where he really blossomed was in the passing game.

 

[Dayman]

Lagarette Blount had 1,200 yards and 18 TDs for NE in 2016. He signed with Philly for 1 year at a max of $2.8 million the next year.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

Lagarette Blount had 1,200 yards and 18 TDs for NE in 2016. He signed with Philly for 1 year at a max of $2.8 million the next year.

Blount was 30 years old, that year in New England and 31 with the Eagles...Conner is 26...Apples and Oranges. RB's have long thought to fall off a cliff at age 30.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

Blount was 30 years old, that year in New England and 31 with the Eagles...Conner is 26...Apples and Oranges. RB's have long thought to fall off a cliff at age 30.

Also, Blount wasn't a receiving threat, at all. Conner is a much more complete back, at this stage.

 

[SoonerLou]

Yeah anyone claiming his YPC wasn’t just his YPC isn’t being honest with themselves. Where he really blossomed was in the passing game.

Yea he's basically a more physical David Johnson. Which isn't bad to have, but we are going to need him to be healthy cause Im not sure Chase is easily replaceable.

Running into a brick wall doesn't help the YPC avg either. So work needs to be done at RG.

 

[Shane]

Lagarette Blount had 1,200 yards and 18 TDs for NE in 2016. He signed with Philly for 1 year at a max of $2.8 million the next year.

And this isn’t 2016

 

[Dayman]

Blount was 30 years old, that year in New England and 31 with the Eagles...Conner is 26...Apples and Oranges. RB's have long thought to fall off a cliff at age 30.

Blount had also rushed for over 1,000 yards and registered over 215 carries in a season. So has every other RB currently paid in the top 10 for their position. Not Conner, though.

Look, I appreciate what Conner did last year, and he certainly has a role on this team, but this is the 3rd time Keim has paid top money to a back after one good season. We all know how the other two turned out. Maybe Conner is different, but a lot of people, including myself, are skeptical.

 

[kerouac9]

Yea he's basically a more physical David Johnson. Which isn't bad to have, but we are going to need him to be healthy cause Im not sure Chase is easily replaceable.

Running into a brick wall doesn't help the YPC avg either. So work needs to be done at RG.

I don’t think so.

— Steve Keim

 

[RON_IN_OC]

Blount had also rushed for over 1,000 yards and registered over 215 carries in a season. So has every other RB currently paid in the top 10 for their position. Not Conner, though.

Look, I appreciate what Conner did last year, and he certainly has a role on this team, but this is the 3rd time Keim has paid top money to a back after one good season. We all know how the other two turned out. Maybe Conner is different, but a lot of people, including myself, are skeptical.

Look at Conners history with rushing and receiving....he's actually been a dual threat since he came into the league. He'll consistently give you 800 yards rushing and 400 yards receiving.

 

[kerouac9]

Look at Conners history with rushing and receiving....he's actually been a dual threat since he came into the league. He'll consistently give you 800 yards rushing and 400 yards receiving.

This is accurate. Conner has been a comparatively good receiver essentially his whole career.

Now, whether consistently giving 800 rushing yards and 400 receiving yards a season is worth a Top 10 RB contract is another question entirely.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

I love the Conner signing and think it's getting unfairly bashed by the media. When healthy he gives us a smashmouth kind of running back that will grind out yards and a very decent receiving option as well. It's set up that he'll be option #1 this season with Chase gone.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

This is accurate. Conner has been a comparatively good receiver essentially his whole career.

Now, whether consistently giving 800 rushing yards and 400 receiving yards a season is worth a Top 10 RB contract is another question entirely.

That’s where my head went. Yeah I could see 800 & 400. But is that top 10 $$$? In my mind, a resounding no.

 

[MadCardDisease]

That’s where my head went. Yeah I could see 800 & 400. But is that top 10 $$$? In my mind, a resounding no.

In 2022 Conner is the 19th highest paid RB cap hit wise $3.975M.

For comparison Chase Edmonds has the 12th highest cap hit $5.5M in 2022.

 

[Dayman]

In 2022 Conner is the 19th highest paid RB cap hit wise $3.975M.

For comparison Chase Edmonds has the 12th highest cap hit $5.5M in 2022.

Now do 2023

 

[Krangodnzr]

Now do 2023

It's not a terrible idea to defer some money to 2023 if it isn't a crazy number. The Cardinals have a metric buttload of cap space in 2023.

 

[MadCardDisease]

Now do 2023

It really doesn't matter but Conner currently sits at 9th highest paid in 2023. However within a year he will be passed up by several new RB contracts pushing him further down the list for 2023.

To put things into perspective for 2023, Aaron Jones and Christian McCaffrey will each have a cap hit of $20M. While Conner's will be half of that at $10M.

 

[THESMEL]

Oh jeepers, you guys would not piss on a rb if he was in fire. I mean if we had a coach smart enough to actually start him, and play him in the first 1/2 - he would certainly increase those pro bowl back up numbers. Pass addicted allergic to the run losers.

 

[GoldGloveschmidt]

Oh jeepers, you guys would not piss on a rb if he was in fire. I mean if we had a coach smart enough to actually start him, and play him in the first 1/2 - he would certainly increase those pro bowl back up numbers. Pass addicted allergic to the run losers.

The problem was that our coach significantly overworked him in the Seattle game and got him hurt, which is why he barely played in the playoff game. Doesn't get talked about but with Conner healthy it's likely an entirely different game plan and outcome (not saying we would win but the score would have been better).

 

[Stout]

The problem was that our coach significantly overworked him in the Seattle game and got him hurt, which is why he barely played in the playoff game. Doesn't get talked about but with Conner healthy it's likely an entirely different game plan and outcome (not saying we would win but the score would have been better).

Conner's health falls directly on Conner. He's had plenty of injury problems in his career, and this was just par for the course.