David Johnson: I hope Le'Veon Bell gets the deal he deserves

Time is ticking for teams to sign their franchise-tagged players to long-term contracts.

The deadline is July 17 and the deals running back Le'Veon Bell, quarterback Kirk Cousins, and cornerback Trumaine Johnson could receive would likely reset the market at their respective positions.

Among the players watching the ongoing negotiations is Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson. He has his eye on the figure Bell will receive and hopes it rivals that of superstars at other positions.

"I hope he gets the deal he deserves," Johnson said to Andy Benoit of The MMQB. "I hope it's going to be the type of deal that cornerbacks get and quarterbacks get."

Johnson already counts himself as the best back in the league and he certainly has a solid case after his first two seasons in the league. He's scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent in 2019, so the next contract Bell signs will impact Johnson's next deal.

The running back is among the lowest-paid positions in the NFL, but Bell and Johnson just may be able to level the playing field as far as salary is concerned.

"I feel like, especially now, with the running backs we have in this league, we're going to definitely change the mentality of the running back and those contract deals," Johnson said. "We're going to definitely make it (understood) that running backs are more important than you'd think."

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