Report: Cardinals made offer to LeGarrette Blount before he signed with Eagles
May 17, 2017, 8:37 AM | Updated: 8:44 am
New England Patriots' LeGarrette Blount carries past Atlanta Falcons' Jonathan Babineaux, center, during the first half of the NFL Super Bowl 51 football game Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, in Houston. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
The Arizona Cardinals are back on the football field as a team in the very early stages of preparation for the 2017 season.
Organized team activities (OTAs) began earlier this week at the team’s training facility in Tempe, but that doesn’t mean the Cardinals roster is a finished product. General manager Steve Keim is known for tinkering and adding veteran talent to the team well into training camp.
According to one report, Keim is still trying to bolster Arizona’s running back position behind Pro Bowler David Johnson.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported Wednesday morning that Keim dangled an offer in front of former New England running back LeGarrette Blount before the veteran chose to sign a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. Rapoport also wrote that the New York Giants were the third team interested in Blount’s services.
Blount, a seven-year veteran, ran for a career-high 1,161 yards and led the NFL with 18 rushing touchdowns last season, helping the Patriots to their fifth Super Bowl title.
The 6-foot-1, 245-pound back figures to get a bigger workload in Philadelphia than he would in Arizona, where he’d be a clear backup to Johnson. With the Eagles, Blount could push for the starting role with incumbent Ryan Mathews, who ran for 661 yards and eight touchdowns a year ago.
Meanwhile, Keim and the Cardinals could still be looking for running back depth. After Andre Ellington’s move to wide receiver, the depth chart is short on experience behind Johnson. Kerwynn Williams is the only player with an NFL carry on his resume. Elijhaa Penny starred in preseason games a year ago, and the Cardinals are intrigued by his power running style. Rookies T.J. Logan, a fifth-round pick out of North Carolina, and James Summers, an undrafted player out of East Carolina, complete the room.
Chris Johnson, who has served as a backup in Arizona for the last two seasons, remains unsigned and a possibility to return. Other free agent running backs still on the market include Christine Michael, DeAngelo Williams and Khiry Robinson.
