Chris Johnson hasn’t been viewed as a superstar running back for the past few seasons, but the Arizona Cardinals decided to give him another chance to prove himself during the 2015 season. They signed him to a one-year deal and Bruce Arians has made it clear that they will give him an opportunity to win the starting job away from Andre Ellington if he can play consistently good football.
Last season with the New York Jets, Johnson ended up carrying the football 155 times for 663 yards and a touchdown. Those numbers certainly weren’t what the Jets were hoping for, but it wasn’t a very good fit for Johnson either.
Now the question becomes, can Johnson revive his career with the Cardinals this coming season?
At 29 years old, Johnson has handled quite a load throughout his career. He likely doesn’t have much more time left in his career where he is capable of being a starting running back, and he’ll have to prove to Arizona this year that he still can this season. Johnson still believes that he can be a featured running back for a team, and perhaps the Cardinals can offer him the right fit to make that happen.
Beating out Ellington isn’t going to be easy, as the 26-year-old showed flashes of dominance once again in Arizona’s first preseason game. That being said, last season was an absolute nightmare for Ellington. He saw his season end early due to injuries, and was extremely inconsistent during the season before his injury occurred.
Carson Palmer needs as much support on the ground as he can get, as the Cardinals’ offense is not made for being a dynamic aerial attack. Johnson could be a very key receiver out of the backfield as well for the Arizona offense, and it would be easy to get him into open space which is where he thrives.
Arians is one of the top coaches at using his players to the best of their abilities and getting the most out of his team. He will be watching Johnson fairly closely over the next few weeks, and will figure out how to use the veteran running back.
There is no question that Johnson “can” turn his career around with the Cardinals. They offer him the exact type of offense that he needs to be in to thrive, and having the coaching staff helping him that Arizona has will be vital for his resurgence. Assuming he can stay healthy and uses the chip on his shoulder to work hard and get back in top shape, there is no reason why he can’t get back to being a legitimate starting running back for another year or two.
Arizona might very well end up getting lucky with the addition of Johnson. He came at a low cost, and could end up being the type of high reward that the Cardinals were needing to jump-start their offense.
