After being drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 2016, following an impressive career at Alabama, running back Kenyan Drake struggled to find his groove and be a nationally recognized offensive weapon.
That is until he was traded to the Arizona Cardinals in 2019, a contract year for the Crimson Tide product.
Having only played eight games with Arizona, he put up numbers that had the Cardinals fanbase rallied around him.
He managed to tally up 643 yards off of 123 carries for eight touchdowns on the ground. Drake was also able to help in the passing game by reeling in 28 receptions for 171 yards.
As previously mentioned, Drake is set to be a free agent heading into the 2020 NFL regular season, and he has proven that he can be an effective lead back for a franchise, if given the right opportunities.
Drake took over the Cardinals starting running back position from David Johnson, who at one point took the league by storm. However, due to injuries, Johnson has not seen much of the field.
Arizona’s General Manager, Steve Keim, spoke on Drake’s free agency and the role he would have should he sign with his team.
“The guy who is under contract, and the guy who earns it,” Keim said during an extended interview on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.
Keim is stating that whoever is on the team will have to earn the spot, nothing is guaranteed or promised to neither Johnson nor Drake.
Johnson is set to earn $10 million from the team in 2020 alone, some have speculated that the Cardinals will cut him in order to save some money and just stick with Drake in the backfield.
“Cutting him is not an option,” Keim said. “Not only the cap hit, but you’re still paying him the cash as well, and it wouldn’t be responsible for me or the organization for me to do that.”