The Arizona Cardinals suffered a heavy blow at the start of their 2025 season when starting running back James Conner suffered a serious foot injury. Conner, who crossed the 1,000-yard mark in each of the past two seasons, was a key offensive piece for the team and was expected to be a significant contributor once again.
However, during the Cardinals’ third game of the season, he suffered a serious foot injury and has not played ever since. Arizona currently has a 3-8 record, losing six of those games by one possession. Having Conner would definitely help them close a few of these games.
What Is the Injury Update on James Conner?
The injury suffered by Conner was serious and required surgery. Right from the beginning, it looked like a serious problem had occurred with the running back. He was carted off the field in Week 3 against the San Francisco 49ers, surrounded by his teammates.
The day after the injury, it was confirmed that Conner’s foot injury would make him miss the rest of the season. He needed surgery to fix the problem and would only be able to return to the field in 2026.
At the time of the injury, head coach Jonathan Gannon voiced his sadness with Conner’s injury. “I feel terrible, but I know he’ll take the right attitude and bounce back. Just knowing what type of player and person he is, it’s tough to replace, but we have to. So that’s what we’ll do,” Gannon said.
The running back did not share any updates about his recovery on social media. However, the expectation is that he’ll be up to 100% when the 2026 season starts. He still has one year left in his contract with the Cardinals, and he’s set to earn over $6.3 million in 2026.
The Cardinals haven’t been able to find a capable starting running back in his absence. Bam Knight, Trey Benson, and Michael Carter have all started games for the team since Conner’s injury, but none of them have locked down the job. Emari Demercado leads the team with 241 yards; the Cardinals have 1,112 rushing yards in total, the 7th-lowest mark in the league.
More telling is the fact that Knight is ranked No. 49 and Carter is ranked No. 50Â in our PFSN RB Impact Metric. Conner does not qualify in our metric, as he does not average six rushes per team game due to his injury.
The Cardinals will hope to see him back in full health in 2026, but he’ll be 31 at the start of next season. Returning from a serious injury, his best days could be behind him.
