Arizona running back David Johnson skipped the first day of the Cardinals‘ mandatory minicamp Tuesday amid reports that the sides are discussing a new contract.
Johnson
Joe Mixon Jersey , who led the NFL with 20 touchdowns in a breakout 2016 season before missing all but one game with a wrist injury last year, is scheduled to make $1,882,500 in the fourth and final year of his rookie contract.
Cardinals first-year coach Steve Wilks did not address Johnson’s situation specifically on the first day of the three-day minicamp, but teammates were supportive of his stance.
”He wants a new contract,” veteran safety Antoine Bethea said. ”Especially the position he plays . obviously we know running backs, they have a short span here in the league. That’s all. He just wants him and his family to be stable. We get it. I respect it. I support it. I think anybody would.”
Johnson had 2,118 yards of total offense in 2016, behind only Le’Veon Bell and Ezekiel Elliott among NFL running backs. He had 1,239 yards rushing and 16 rushing touchdowns that season.
He suffered a dislocated wrist in the 2017 season opener at Detroit that kept him out for the rest of the season, and the Cardinals turned to Adrian Peterson and Kerwynn Williams to pick up the slack on an 8-8 team that also lost quarterback Carson Palmer to a season-ending broken arm in Week 7.
The Cardinals finished 30th in the league in rushing yards last season
Sean Lee Jersey , coach Bruce Arians’ last. Neither Peterson not Williams is back this season.
”I’m going to keep my focus on the guys who are here,” Wilks said. ”We are going to continue to take that step and get better. David is not here and we have to keep going. This is the National Football League. It doesn’t stop for myself of any other player.”
Bethea said that since the Cardinals are running a new system, ”there are going to be some things that you miss” by not attending.
”But it is not anything that he is not going to be able to pick up,” he said. ”He’s a smart guy. He’s been playing running back all his life. He’ll be fine.”
Johnson, a third-round draft pick out of Northern Iowa in 2015, had 15 straight games with at least 100 yards from scrimmage in 2016 after opening the season third on the depth chart. That tied Barry Sanders for the longest one-season streak in league history.
Johnson had 90 yards of total offense – 23 rushing, 67 receiving – against Detroit last year before being lost in the third quarter.
Wilks mentioned second-year player D.J. Foster and rookie fourth-round draft pick Chase Edmonds out of Fordham as running backs who caught his eye Tuesday. Foster played on the 2016 New England Super Bowl championship team and saw action in seven games with the Cardinals last year.
”When you look at what we try to do offensively, there is a rotation back there,” Wilks said. ”You want a guy who is going to be able to step up who can give you the same elements from a standpoint of a three-down back.”
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For the Oklahoma City Thunder, clinching night was reminiscent of their season.
Really bad start.
Really good finish.
Paul George scored 27 points, Russell Westbrook got his 25th triple-double of the season and the Thunder ran wild in the fourth quarter on the way to wrapping up a Western Conference playoff berth with a 115-93 win over the Miami Heat on Monday night.
”Half the league gets a chance to play in the postseason
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That’s what Oklahoma City did all season. They started 8-12, are 39-22 since and got road wins over Houston and Miami in a three-day span to clinch the berth.
”We’re headed in the right direction,” said George, who walked off a winner in Miami for the third time in 21 appearances. ”This is what we wanted. We wanted to come out of this road trip 2-0 and we did that.”
Westbrook finished with 23 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists for the Thunder, who missed their first 10 shots and were down by 18 in the opening minutes before outscoring the Heat 39-12 in the fourth.
It was the third-worst scoring margin for any quarter in Heat history, and the worst ever in a game at Miami.
The Heat were called for 10 fouls in the fourth against three for the Thunder, and Oklahoma City shot 15 free throws in the final quarter – one more than Miami shot in the entire game.
”We had a lot of good things going
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Jerami Grant scored 17 points and Carmelo Anthony added 11 for Oklahoma City, which made 14 3-pointers. Anthony will be playing in postseason games for the first time since 2013, after four consecutive futile seasons with the Knicks.
”Feels good to be back in the postseason and the mindset of not looking forward to another vacation,” Anthony said.
Josh Richardson scored 18 points and Hassan Whiteside added 16 for the Heat, who fell one spot to No. 7 in the East for now. Miami’s playoff seed won’t be decided until the season finales Wednesday.
Justise Winslow and Tyler Johnson each scored 12 for Miami, and James Johnson added 11.
”We haven’t done things the easy way,” Heat guard Wayne Ellington said. ”I guess we like the challenge.”
TIP-INS
Thunder: Westbrook needs 16 rebounds in the Thunder finale Wednesday to average a triple-double for the second straight season. He’s also the second player with 2,000 points and 800 assists in back-to-back years. The other is Oscar Robertson, who did it five times. … Alex Abrines was held out of the second half with concussion symptoms.
Heat: Miami outscored Oklahoma City 58-32 in the paint. … The Heat shot 5 for 22 from 3-point range. … James Johnson got poked in the eye and Richardson banged a knee late, but both suggested after the game that they’ll be fine.
QUOTABLE
”We know we can beat anybody when we’re playing our best
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WADE HONORED
Heat guard Dwyane Wade was presented with the NBA Cares Community Assist Award for March, recognizing his response to the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Wade and his wife Gabrielle Union donated $200,000 toward getting students to the ”March for Our Lives” event in Washington last month. ”I came back to this city at a time when I was needed, when my voice was needed,” Wade said.
TITLE WINNERS
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski sat midcourt with Heat CEO Nick Arison, his former manager with the Blue Devils. Coach K was one of three accomplished college coaches at the game; Rick Pitino was also there, near Donovan – who played guard on Providence’s 1987 Final Four team (coached by Pitino), and a two-time NCAA title winner at Florida before going to Oklahoma City.
UP NEXT
Thunder: Host Memphis on Wednesday.
Heat: Host Toronto on Wednesday.
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