Here's the thing about John Brown. He is well-liked. You could see it in the reaction after he scored his touchdown Sunday against the Giants -- Drew Stanton ran into the end zone dancing, Larry Fitzgerald delivered a patented Fitz-tackle, and then Fitz and Jermaine Gresham picked Smoke up and carried him a bit in celebration. And then you heard it after the game:

"It's great to see John come back and get that touchdown," coach Bruce Arians said. "He's still not full speed, but it meant a lot to him to get out there and play. It meant a lot to me to see him play."

"It's a lot of fun when you see good things happen to those guys," Fitzgerald said. "Smoke needed that, we needed that, and hopefully, we can get a little bit more done next week."

That's another reason why Brown's status is so interesting heading into the offseason. No, the fact his teammates and his coach want him to do well isn't why, unto itself, you bring a guy back. Brown's market -- such that it will be, after two years of injury-impacted struggles, including a disappointing 21-299-3 line this season -- doesn't figure to be intense or expensive. He is light years from his first two seasons, in which he had a 1,000 yards in 2015 and multiple huge plays as a rookie in 2014. Will the Cardinals bring him back as a potential piece, a wild card bonus if he can stay healthy? Given his health history, the Cards can't pencil him in (if he came back) high on the depth chart. But the guy, when he has been right, has proven he can make plays.

And that makes everyone happy.