James Conner played for the Pittsburgh Steelers for four seasons prior to signing with the Arizona Cardinals in 2021. He is entering the final year of his contract, but has his sights set on getting a new deal from them and finishing his career in Arizona.
“It would be awesome to finish my career here, but nothing changes,” Conner said in an interview with the Cardinals’ team website. “If anything, it’s time to turn it up even more going into the last year of my deal. I’m thankful I got to see the last year of it, so I’ll go into it with everything I got. We’ll see what happens next year, hopefully stay, but I understand it’s a business.”
Connor is entering his eighth NFL season after being a third-round pick by the Steelers in the 2017 NFL Draft. What is funny is the Steelers entered the 2021 offseason with the mandate of fixing their running game. Conner was coming off a down year in which he only started 11 games due to some injuries and Covid. Najee Harris has slightly outperformed him, and he has been able to play in every game of his three-year career so far. That has not been the case for Conner, but I think it is fair to say the Steelers learned that the ball carrier wasn’t the issue.
Over the last three seasons, Conner has 2,574 rushing yards and 29 rushing touchdowns compared to Harris’ 3,269 rushing yards and 22 rushing touchdowns, and they have nearly identical receiving numbers over that span. And if you look at their 2023 stats in isolation, they were nearly identical across the board, right down to being near the top of the league in broken tackles.
Now with the Steelers declining Harris’ fifth-year option, he is likely to be playing elsewhere in 2025. Conner will turn 30 prior to the start of the 2025 season, and the Steelers could be looking for a running back to pair with Jaylen Warren. Conner’s age and wear and tear likely won’t command a pay raise, and he is making more or less what Harris would have made had the Steelers exercised his fifth-year option at $6.79 million.
Could he be in play for a return to Pittsburgh? My guess is probably not. The Steelers will likely find a cheaper option in free agency or the draft, but stranger things have happened. It sounds like Conner’s intent, however, is to remain in Arizona.
