Arizona Cardinals fans know the success running back Kenyan Drake had after he was acquired via trade from the Miami Dolphins. In only eight games with the Cardinals, he led the team in rushing and rushing touchdowns.
He had three games with over 110 yards rushing and scored seven touchdowns in the final three games of the season.
He flourished after three and a half seasons of a limited role with the Dolphins, something he believes that limited him.
He wasn’t happy in Miami.
“I feel like at the end of the day, they had a plan of how they wanted to go in a direction,” Drake said, according to the Miami Herald’s Adam Beasley. “I feel like I didn’t fit in that plan. I just feel like when they put in a specific role, just playing third down, or coming out and being a receiving back, I felt like I could run and be a little bit more productive.”
And he was productive. He got 123 carries in eight games with the Cardinals, more than what he got the entire 2018 season and only 10 fewer than he had the entire 2017 season.
For the first time in his career, he wasn’t stuck in a single role.
“I got a lot of touches,” Drake said. “I was able to be out on the field and impact on a lot of different levels. I just felt like I was able to go out there and play free without constraints, being in a specific roles.”
That resulted in big numbers and he is now in line to cash in on a new contract in free agency.
The Cardinals want him back.
After what he showed in the second half of the season, other teams likely will want to sign him. But if he wants to be given a featured role, he knows what the Cardinals can offer. He has already seen it.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.
Ep. 256
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Ep. 255
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