“(Paris) is a dude that loves ball,” Mike LaFleur said. “He’s got a growth mindset. He knows he hasn’t arrived. That was one of the first conversations we had. I asked him where he wanted to improve. Without hesitation (he said) I want to improve in the run game. … Part of the run game is the mindset, and he knows that. He’s been so cognizant of that.”
The Cardinals exercised their fifth-year option on Johnson, extending his rookie contract to 2027. He is hoping for a contract extension, and GM Monti Ossenfort talked at the Scouting Combine that Johnson – the sixth overall pick in the 2023 draft – is a player the Cardinals want to keep long-term.
What the timeline might be for that is unknown. Wide receiver Michael Wilson is also an extension candidate, and his contract runs out after the season. Besides, Johnson insisted he isn’t dwelling on the potential deal.
“My goal is just to be the best version of me today,” Johnson said. “That’s the only thing on my mind. I know the contract stuff will work itself out in the timing. It always does, especially in the tackle market. It happens when it happens. I’m not worried about that right now because it’s not going to help me block anyone in front of me.”
That now includes Myles Garrett twice a season, now that the Rams traded for the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Johnson called it “awesome” to have Garrett in an NFC West that “looks like the SEC right now.”
But Johnson also noted “those (other teams) have to see the guys we have too.”
That’s what the just completed offseason program has been for, what training camp will be for, and what his Bentley workouts out in Ohio have been and will be for.
Johnson was reminded he can’t escape at least one sleep in Cleveland. That’s where the Cardinals will stay when they play the Panthers in the Hall of Fame Game to open the preseason.
“I guess I will be there overnight,” Johnson said. “But again, I’m there with purpose. I can be anywhere with purpose.”