Back when James Conner played with the Steelers, he had a conversation with defensive lineman Cam Heyward, who had just signed a giant contract extension.
Conner asked Heyward how it felt to have the mega-deal. Heyward had a simple answer.
"I've got to show them I'm worth it," Heyward replied.
"That flipped my whole mindset," Conner said after practice Wednesday, talking for the first time about the two-year extension he signed on Saturday, putting the running back under contract through 2026. "Just because they give you the money, there is still this huge challenge ahead.
"Being a leader, you have to do the right things day in and day out, and also hold myself accountable."
Conner is a foundational piece of the offense, with 773 yards rushing and five touchdowns as he chases a second straight 1,000-yard season and adding another 301 yards on 32 receptions.
The contract was the second extension Conner has signed with the Cardinals since inking a one-year free-agent deal with the team in 2021 after leaving the Steelers when his rookie contract expired.
Conner has gone on to have a better second half of his career than the years he had in Pittsburgh.
"I go by the term, 'It's already written,'" Conner said. "My boys, they've been telling me that since we were at Pitt. My family, they'd say 'It's already written.' I am truthfully always ready for whatever in my NFL journey, but it's been awesome to look back and see the chance Arizona gave me and to what I turned it into and I'm still here. I just felt it was already written."
The contract pushed up Conner's salary cap number this season but he will carry a cap number of only $6.5 million in 2025, according to overthecap.com. The deal has offseason workout bonuses, per-game bonuses and a signing bonus of $6.75M. More than $10M is guaranteed for now, with another $2.6M that guarantees on the fifth day of the 2025 offseason and a potential value of up to $19M.
It doesn't always go like this. Conner turns 30 in May, an age when a running back may not be getting good extensions or for more than one season. For this, Conner said he is thankful the Cardinals "still believe in me."
"That's why they brought me back and that's why I'm going to keep working," Conner said. "Two more years of the chase."
Coach Jonathan Gannon talked about how big his smile was when he was told Conner would be staying around and not heading into free agency. Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said Conner is everything a coach would want in a top tailback.
"As a player, the effort he runs with, the violence, the way that he carries himself … we don't play him a ton in all downs, but he's really good in pass protection," Petzing said. "I could stand up here and talk about him for hours, he does so many things well. And as a teammate and a leader in the locker room, I can't say enough about that."
Conner just wants to keep it that way.
"You have to earn it," he said. "You are always being evaluated."
BARTON RETURNS TO PRACTICE SQUAD
The Cardinals activated offensive lineman Jackson Barton from the Practice Squad Injured Reserve on Wednesday. Barton had been on PS-IR since Sept. 25 with a toe injury. He started the Lions game in Week 3 after injuries to Jonah Williams and Kelvin Beachum.
To make room, the Cardinals released linebacker Ronnie Perkins from the practice squad.
