A big question this offseason for the Arizona Cardinals will be whether or not they trade running back David Johnson and his contract. The move would save them more than $10 million against the salary cap.
However, many believe that the Cardinals will either have to add a draft pick to any deal to entice a team to take his contract on or restructure the contract in a way that they lessen the financial burden.
The Athletic’s Aaron Reiss proposes a deal with the Houston Texans discussing the pros and the cons. However, that deal doesn’t make any sense at all for the Cardinals.
He suggests the Cardinals would have to attach a late-round pick to the deal and eat as much as $6 million of the 2020 salary.
The Cardinals already only have six picks in this year’s draft. They are in no position to give one up.
Johnson’s deal currently counts roughly $14.2 million against the cap. A straight trade would save them about $8.2 million and create $6 million in dead money. If they paid him $6 million before trading him, giving the Texans only $4.2 million to pay, then the Cardinals would end up with $12 million in dead money and save only about $2.2 million.
While it is savings, it isn’t significant enough to not have him on the roster. He is good in the community, good in the locker room and a good teammate. While he was unhappy last year, the Cardinals still speak highly of him and believe he can still be productive.
A deal only makes sense if they can save a good amount of money and replace him with someone like Kenyan Drake. If they don’t bring back Drake, then why bother?
A potentially productive Johnson still has value on the roster as opposed to $12 million in dead money, which is neither a value nor production.
Trade Johnson to save $2 million and also give up a pick? I wouldn’t do it.
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Ep. 261
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Ep. 260
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