The period for NFL teams to use their franchise tag on a player opened last week and closes next week. The Cincinnati Bengals have used to to tag receiver Tee Higgins.
However, not a single running back — not Derrick Henry, not Tony Pollard, not Austin Ekeler and not Josh Jacobs — has been or is expected to be tagged.
This is significant for the Arizona Cardinals.
It isn’t because they will target any of these backs. They already have a solid running back tandem of James Conner and Michael Carter, both of whom are under contract in 2024.
It is because Conner, coming off a career season, enters the final year of his contract.
Conner is due a $1.5 million roster bonus next month and is scheduled to make more than $4.2 million in salary. It is the final year of his three-year, $21 million contract he signed after the 2021 season.
After rushing for over 1,000 yards for the first time in his career and haveing four 100-yard games in only 13 he played (he spent four games on injured reserve), he likely will seek an extension.
His impact on the offense is similar to that of the biggest-name backs in the league. But if the running back market drops some, extending Conner might not cost as much as some might think. Instead of a per-year average of $10 million or more, perhaps adding a couple of years at about $8 million per year on average (including signing bonus) is where the contract valuation would come in.
Considering Conner’s importance to the Cardinals’ offense, this development in the running back market could be a positive one for Arizona.
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