Trey Benson took over as the Arizona Cardinals’ starting running back after James Conner went down with a season-ending injury. He then suffered an injury of his own and has been out since, but he appears to be nearing a return to the field. Here’s where his status currently stands as Week 13 approaches.
Will Trey Benson Return for the Cardinals in Week 13?
Benson started just one game as Conner’s replacement before the Cardinals placed him on the injured reserve list with a knee injury. He returned to practice last week as a limited participant but was ultimately ruled out for their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Emari Demercado, his primary replacement, was also unable to play last week, leaving Bam Knight and Michael Carter to handle the backfield workload. Considering Benson was able to practice again last week, and the Cardinals officially opened his window to return, he would seem to have a realistic shot at being available for their Week 13 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
His potential return could give the Cardinals’ offense a boost down the final stretch of the season, as their running backs have severely struggled in his and Conner’s absence. Not one of them has cracked a score of 80 or better in PFSN’s Impact Rankings in any week this season. Carter’s 78.5 back in Week 6 was their best individual score by any running back this year.
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Benson will likely resume his role as the starter whenever he is healthy enough to return, theoretically in their upcoming game this week. He demonstrated his upside during his rookie season last year, though in a limited role behind Conner, including averaging an impressive 4.6 yards per carry.
He notably improved that number even further in his four games during the 2025 NFL season to an excellent 5.5 yards per carry before his injury ended his opportunity to prove his value as a featured running back. He received just one start, which was incomplete due to the injury, but could potentially get a full-time workload to close out the year.
The Cardinals have just a 3-8 record and are essentially out of the playoff race. This means that they should focus on analyzing their younger players and determine which of them could be building blocks for their future.
This includes Benson, who is just in his second season, but has demonstrated intriguing upside in a small sample size that may be worth exploring further.
