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Josh Weinfuss, ESPN Staff Writer
MINNEAPOLIS — The cold won’t bother Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner this weekend.
Hours before he and the Cardinals boarded a plane headed to Minnesota, where temperatures will hit the teens on Saturday, for Sunday’s game against the Vikings, Conner signed a two-year extension that will keep him in Arizona through the 2026 season, the team announced.
A source told ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter the deal is worth $19 million.
Conner, whose base salary was $4.235 million this season, was set to be a free agent after this season. His $9.5 million average annual salary will make him the seventh-highest-paid running back on an annual value.
Already at 705 rushing yards, Conner, who turns 30 in May, is on pace for his second straight 1,000-yard season; they would be the only two of his eight-year career. He already has four 100-yard games this season and has five rushing touchdowns.
Conner has been a key cog in Arizona’s offense since he arrived in 2021, but he has taken another step in offensive coordinator Drew Petzing’s offense.
“I have full trust in James,” coach Jonathan Gannon said earlier this season. “I know Drew does, the offensive staff does, and the offense does. He’s an asset that we have that not a lot of people have.
“He does a lot for us not just on the playing side [but] the psychological, the leadership side and the lead-by-example side. This guy’s in there before anyone’s in there working on his legs today. That’s who he is as a person at his core. He just keeps the main thing the main thing, and he goes about his business, and he works, man. It’s comforting.”
The Cardinals are 5-1 in games when Conner has hit 100 yards from scrimmage but 1-4 when he hasn’t.
Conner has supplemented his 705 rushing yards with 288 receiving yards, which gives him 993 yards from scrimmage this season. If he hits 1,000 yards from scrimmage, he’ll be the first play in Cardinals history to hit that mark in each of his first four seasons with the team.
Since Conner signed with Arizona in 2021, only five other players have score more touchdowns than Conner’s 40 over that span.
Conner has gained the respect of Gannon in a short time.
Gannon said this past offseason that if there was one player his oldest child should follow and watch, Conner would be among the best options. Gannon has lauded Conner’s work ethic on and off the field, pointing out multiple times how well Conner takes care of his body throughout the season.
And Conner’s impact on the team goes beyond the coaching staff.
“You can’t put a price tag on what JC means,” quarterback Kyler Murray said. “Now, I could go on and on about him, but great dude, great teammate, great leader, great player.
“I don’t think he gets the credit that he deserves, but the guys in that room, they understand what he is.”
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