Cardinals & David Johnson Not Expected To Get Extension Done Before Opener

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Cardinals and RB David Johnson have had contract talks up to this point, but they are not expected to get an extension done before the team’s season opener on Sunday.

According to Rapoport, the two parties are leaving the door open for a deal to possibly get done during the regular season.

Cardinals GM Steve Keim said they remain hopeful a deal gets done and they have had “constant dialogue.”

When it was asked if the Cardinals were waiting for Johnson to prove he can stay healthy, Keim said: “Not at all. I’m convinced David is the guy we want to keep as a core member of this team.”

Johnson previously made the decision to skip mandatory minicamp for a new contract, but elected to end his holdout and report to the team for the start of training camp.

Rams RB Todd Gurley raised the bar for the running back position last month when he agreed to a four-year, $60 million extension that includes $45 million guaranteed.

Johnson and Le’Veon Bell are both in position to cash in next year as free agents. However, Arizona will have their franchise tag available, so they prefer to wait and see how Johnson performs in 2018 before seriously discussing an extension in the neighborhood of Gurley’s new contract.

Johnson, 26, was taken in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Cardinals. He’s currently in the final year of his four-year, $2.992 million contract and stands to make a base salary of $705,000 for the 2018 season.

In 2017, Johnson appeared in one game and rushed for 23 yards on 11 carries to go along with six receptions for 67 yards receiving.