Cardinals sign RB James Conner to 2-year extension - ESPN

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