3. What is David Johnson’s role moving forward?

Cardinals running back David Johnson has been a major staple of the Cardinals’ offense since 2016 where he led the league in scrimmage yards with 2,113 total yards. However, things have changed in the past few weeks.

First, Johnson would pick up an ankle injury after a game against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 6. He would then play against the New York Giants in the following week but would only run one time for two yards with Kliff Kingsbury announcing that Johnson was available only in an “emergency situation”. His backup Chase Edmonds would go on to have a career day rushing for 126 yards and three touchdowns in a Cardinals victory. Edmonds would then suffer an injury of his own against the Saints missing time due to a hamstring ailment.

Second, the Cardinals traded for former Miami Dolphins running back Kenyan Drake for a 2020 conditional draft pick after it was deemed that David Johnson would miss some time. Drake’s first game with the Cardinals in Week 9 was a memorable one as he would run for 110 yards and a touchdown on one of the best defenses in the league in the San Francisco 49ers.

David Johnson would return against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 10 after logging multiple full practices but was completely ineffective rushing for only two yards and catching one pass for eight yards. Kenyan Drake would then see the rest of the snaps for the remainder of the game.

It is safe to question if the Cardinals truly have a future plan for David Johnson at this point. Johnson only saw eight offensive snaps against the 49ers while Kenyan Drake saw 60 snaps, good for 90 percent of the offensive snaps.

Coach Kliff Kingsbury hasn’t formally declared David Johnson as “being benched” but a sharp drop in snaps in that matter does not bode well for a running back that was paid(3-year, $39 million contract signed last season) and seen as a franchise running back. It appears that David Johnson will be leaned on to back up Kenyan Drake while he attempts to regain his form.

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