Chase Edmonds has served as a complementary back throughout his time with the Cardinals, but the departure of Kenyan Drake this offseason set him up for a different role in 2021.
James Conner’s arrival as a free agent changed that outlook a little bit. The former Steelers starter is coming off a rough season, but his experience as a lead back is something that’s hard to ignore when predicting who will be on the field in Arizona this fall.
It isn’t something that Edmonds is sweating. He said he hates the term “RB1" and that “you have to earn your role” in an offense that should have room for both players.
“Football is competing,” Conner said, via the team’s website. “We’re both going to play a lot this year, we’re both going to make plays, so ‘RB1' really don’t mean much.”
Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury said the team will “make sure we are calling plays both those guys are comfortable with when they are in and kind of tailor them” to who is in the game at the time. Doing that successfully should make for a more potent offense in Arizona this season.
