Arizona Cardinals free agent preview: Running back
NFL free agency begins next week on Monday with the opening of the contact and negotiation window with players whose contracts expire on March 12 and become free agents. The Arizona Cardinals will be active, although it is uncertain how aggressive they will be or how much money they will spend.
But before that happens, we will take a look at each position group, see who is on the roster, who will be free agents and what their need at the position is for the offseason.
Let's look at the the situation at running back.
Running backs under contract
James Conner: Signed through 2026, $6.4 million cap hit in 2025
Trey Benson: Signed through 2027, $1.7 million cap hit in 2025
Emari Demercado: Signed through 2025, $1.04 million cap hit in 2025
DeeJay Dallas: Signed through 2026, $3.1 million cap hit in 2025
Michael Carter: Signed through 2025, $1.27 million cap hit in 2025
Zonovan "Bam" Knight: Signed through 2025, $1.03 million cap hit in 2025
Pending free agents
None
Offseason need
The Cardinals actually have no offseason need at running back. They have a clear starter in Conner. They have a young guy in Benson they are very excited about. They have Dallas as a special teams ace and love Demercado in the third-down role. Carter adds competition to the depth. Knight is probably an offseason body.
Could the Cardinals add a low-end free agent on a one-year deal? Certainly, but they are quite comfortable with the players they have.
It would be a surprise to see them sign anyone of any notoriety, especially with any amount of guaranteed money.
Notable free agent running backs
Don't expect the Cardinals to even consider any of these players, but here are some names to know around the league.
Aaron Jones
Jamaal Williams
Raheem Mostert
Najee Harris
A.J. Dillon
Nick Chubb
JK Dobbins
Samaje Perine
Rico Dowdle
Kareem Hunt
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
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