Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim shut down any notion that running back David Johnson will be cut this offseason.
Speaking with Arizona Sports Friday morning, Keim said quite simply that “Cutting him is not an option,” per Darren Urban of the Cardinals’ official website, noting “you can’t just have one back” in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense.
The reason many have speculated that Johnson might be released this offseason is that he’s due to make $14.16 million in 2020 and hasn’t been able to stay healthy the past two seasons.
But if the Cardinals were to cut him, they’d still owe him $16.2 in dead money. Not to mention, when he can stay on the field Johnson is an outstanding weapon and one of the better dual-threat running backs in the league.
It’s going to be fascinating to see what the Cardinals can do offensively in 2020. Kyler Murray will be in his second season. You’d assume the Cardinals will work on getting him better protection and more weapons. If Johnson can stay healthy, and if Kenyan Drake comes back and continues to shine in this offense, then Arizona could be electric.