{"id":194247,"date":"2024-10-14T16:00:56","date_gmt":"2024-10-14T20:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=194247"},"modified":"2024-10-13T19:15:02","modified_gmt":"2024-10-13T23:15:02","slug":"cardinals-trade-james-conner-cowboys-chargers-ravens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/10\/14\/cardinals-trade-james-conner-cowboys-chargers-ravens\/","title":{"rendered":"Tanking Cardinals Could Trade Top Weapon to Cowboys, Chargers, Ravens"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Arizona Cardinals had a good run, but their blowout loss to the Green Bay Packers could be the final straw that signals a James Conner trade. After going 3-5 with a rusty Kyler Murray last year, some analysts believed Jonathan Gannon’s squad could surprise with Murry healthy and paired with first-round pick Marvin Harrison Jr<\/a>. While the offense has been mostly adequate, the defense has struggled to do much of anything. Now sitting at 2-4, the Cardinals could look to the future and deal some of their older veterans for future draft picks.<\/p>\n

When looking at Arizona’s roster<\/a>, running back James Conner seems to be one of the most likely trade targets. The former Pittsburgh Steeler is still a reliable player, but the 29-year-old is on the older side and probably will be past his prime before Arizona is ready to seriously compete. Additionally, the Cardinals used a third-round pick on running back Trey Benson<\/a>, and they should use the remainder of the season to see what he has in his tank. Arizona doesn’t need a short-term starter like Conner, but several contenders around the league could use a steadying presence in their backfield.<\/p>\n

[tgdcta items=”1″ id=”170476″]<\/p>\n

Cardinals Could Trade James Conner After Blowout Loss to Packers<\/h2>\n

The Dallas Cowboys have arguably the weakest backfield in football. Led by career backup Rico Dowdle and a well past-his-prime Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas needs a more consistent playmaker to compete in a stacked NFC East. While running back is far from the most important position in football, it’s hard to think of a team that could benefit more from a James Conner trade. Dowdle hasn’t been an active liability by any stretch of the imagination, but Elliott’s reduced workload<\/a> is creating the wrong type of media attention. By releasing Elliott and bringing in Conner as a starter, the Cowboys will have two reliable backs for the remainder of the season.<\/p>\n

The Chargers, meanwhile, need more bodies to properly implement head coach Jim Harbaugh’s vision. With Gus Edwards on the injured reserve<\/a>, Los Angeles turned to sixth-round rookie Kimani Vidal to back up J.K. Dobbins. The Troy product played well on Sunday, but the Chargers could benefit from a James Conner trade. Nobody believes in running the ball more than Harbaugh, and Conner’s dual-threat ability as both a runner and a receiver makes him an ideal choice for an offense that needs more pass-catching talent. Even if youngsters Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston fully recover from their respective injuries<\/a>, Conner could be the third option for a team that needs more offensive firepower.<\/p>\n

Possible Backup Work<\/h3>\n

James Conner is a starting-caliber back, but the Ravens could still trade for him and make him a backup. Despite his age, superstar Derrick Henry remains one of the best running backs in football and was one of the league’s best free agent signings<\/a>. The two-time rushing leader entered Week 6’s matchup averaging 6.0 yards per carry and only added to those numbers with a 24-carry, 132-yard, and two-touchdown performance.<\/p>\n

Henry will be the workhorse back as long as he’s healthy, but what happens if injury strikes? Justice Hill is an adequate backup and former undrafted free agent Keaton Mitchell<\/a> had his moments as a rookie, but Baltimore lacks a proven Plan B. A James Conner trade might seem strange on the surface, but adding another back who can handle a high workload could make a difference when January comes around.<\/p>\n

Universal Responsible Gambling Disclaimer: <\/em>Ages 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER<\/p>\n

Main Photo: Jeff Hanisch – USA Today Sports<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Arizona Cardinals are effectively out of the playoff picture and could trade running back James Conner to the highest bidder.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2376,"featured_media":194248,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18,33,10,19],"tags":[7801,7642,7422,2364,7638],"class_list":["post-194247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chargers","category-cardinals","category-ravens","category-cowboys","tag-arizona-cardinals-news","tag-chargers-featured","tag-dallas-cowboys-news","tag-james-conner","tag-ravens-featured"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}