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Justin Pugh: 'No Shot' David Johnson Can Ignore Contract Talks

Cardinals guard says important decision always on the brain

David Johnson wants his contract negotiations to be out of sight, out of mind now that training camp has started.

Good luck with that, guard Justin Pugh said.

The Cardinals signed Pugh to a five-year, $45 million contract this offseason, but not before he went through a similar ordeal with his former team, the New York Giants. Pugh said it's impossible for a player to stop thinking about such an important decision.

"No shot," Pugh said. "It's the rest of your life. It's the biggest deal that's going to come. I can speak from personal experience. It's tough to block it out. At some point you get frustrated with it and you're just kind of like, 'I'm going to go worry about football.' This is just like your zen, your moment of peace. Hopefully he can do that, but I know it's always going to be in the back of your mind."

Pugh said there can be moments of respite, but the topic inevitably comes up again.

"On the field you don't think about it, because you're on the field playing," Pugh said. "That's your natural habitat. Then when you get out, you have your agent calling. 'Hey, you've got to sign this loss of value or disability insurance, or something, something, something.' Speaking from someone who went through it, and not even on the scale he's at, I was always thinking about it."

G Justin Pugh at training camp on Friday.
G Justin Pugh at training camp on Friday.
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