Former All-Pro Cardinals running back participating in 2025 New York City Marathon

Originally posted on Burn City Sports
By Tanner Tortorella | Last updated Oct 28, 2025 7:00 PM ET

GLENDALE – A former Arizona Cardinals All-Pro is suiting back up, but not for the football field. Eight-year NFL pro running back David Johnson has spent the past year of his retirement getting into the best shape of his life to compete in the New York City Marathon. Johnson spoke with Jake Garcia at 12SportsAZ about the process of preparing for the marathon and a possibly return to the Cardinals backfield.

Johnson on how he’s prepared for NYC Marathon:

The Cardinals are running on fumes at running back.

David Johnson is in the best shape of his life.

He's set to run in the New York City Marathon this weekend. He said he could suit up for the Cardinals the week after that.@12SportsAZ #BirdGang pic.twitter.com/JQjD63N6mz

— Jake García (@Jake_M_Garcia) October 28, 2025

Johnson last played in the NFL in 2022 with the New Orleans Saints. The 33-year-old was on top of the world in his sophomore year in Arizona, having 2,118 scrimmage yards and being named a Pro Bowler and All-Pro. However, the following season, Johnson dislocated his wrist in Week 1 that required surgery and ended his year quickly.

Despite never reaching the heights of his masterful 2016 season, Johnson remained a solid running back for the franchise until 2019. In 2020,Johnson was a part of the trade that landed Arizona Houston Texans All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

In this latest interview, Johnson doesn’t appear to hold any hard feelings towards the Cardinals and would be open for a return. Arizona has been destroyed on the injury front in the running back room, losing James Conner and Trey Benson for an extended period of time. A Johnson return seems unlikely, but he doesn’t seem concern about that, preparing to run in his first ever marathon in New York City this weekend.

This article first appeared on Burn City Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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