David Johnson expects extension before season starts

There seems to be something afoot with the Arizona Cardinals and David Johnson. You see, the Cardinals star running back missed OTA’s last week with an unknown, non-serious injury, and then all of a sudden there were articles all over the web about the Cardinals and Johnson’s contract situation.

ProFootballTalk had a great little blurb on it:

Mike Garafolo of NFL Media expects Johnson to have a contract extension before the start of the season, with Johnson and his representation considering, “What’s our number? What do we want to get?”

That’s the question that has to be asked.

What is the number for the Arizona Cardinals, what is the number for David Johnson and can they find something that works for both?

It was a little interesting that all of this came to a head last week before mandatory mini-camp.

Are the Cardinals ready to make a long-term commitment to Johnson and for how much?

Spotrac’s Market Value has Johnson’s extension at a value of $9.2 million a year.

Their model says Johnson’s extension should be for 4 years and $37 million, making him the second highest paid running back in the NFL on an average salary basis.

Is Johnson worth it? That’s the question.

As an on field type, absolutely, but there are two questions that have to be asked:

1. Johnson’s injuries and usage beg the question of guaranteed money and length.
2. Johnson will be 27 this year, meaning the first year of a new contract, unless they buyout this year, will be 28. Which means, the last year of that potential 4-year deal would be Johnson’s age 32 season.

How much do you guarantee a player for that long? Would Johnson be happy with only $20 million in guarantees?

Could this become an issue or do you think the Cardinals and Johnson will figure it out?