There's no debating who handles business in the backfield for the Arizona Cardinals, as James Conner has firmly established himself as one of the top players on the team after a strong 2023 season.
At the beginning of the year, most of the talk at Arizona's running back spot was directed to the rest of the depth chart: Who would be the secondary back to Conner?
The Cardinals thought Marlon Mack was the answer before he suffered a season-ending injury in training camp. Names such as Keaontay Ingram, Emari Demercado, Damien Williams and others tried to fill that role with little success.
In mid-November, Arizona claimed former New York Jets running back Michael Carter off waivers. Carter only played in six games for the team, though he impressed enough to unofficially earn the RB2 spot in the desert moving forward.
In a recent post on Twitter/X, Carter said he feels great heading into 2024:
"for the first time since i got the league, i have off-season clarity. it feels great. next season will be my best. my friends going to their first pro bowls motivates me . i have all the talent in the world . God blessed me w undeniable talent. nxt season will be my best!"
On just 22 carries, Carter averaged 6.8 yards per attempt. He also caught 9/11 targets with one touchdown through the air.
“He has a lot of energy and juice to play football. He loves the game of football, and I love that about him. He’s a competitor. He loves to practice. You can’t get him out of practice. He wants to take all the scout team reps and all the, the first team reps. He wants to practice," Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said previously on Carter.
"He’s extremely intelligent. He’s detailed in meetings. I mean, he’s kind of the perfect fit for what we’re doing. We want guys to be team first. All ball. That’s what he is.”
Carter is under contract through next season.
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