Trey Benson was elevated to the Arizona Cardinals’ starting running back when James Conner suffered a season-ending injury. He then went down with an injury of his own and has missed each of their past three games.
He is now set to miss his fourth consecutive game as he will be unavailable when they take on the Dallas Cowboys in Week 9 on Monday Night Football. He is likely to resume his role as their featured back upon his return, but it won’t happen this week.
Trey Benson Injury Update and Potential Timeline for Return
Benson was placed on the injured reserve list and has since missed each of the Cardinals’ past three games. The minimum stay on the IR is four games, so he will not be eligible to make his return in Week 9 against the Cowboys.
His first opportunity to return to the field will come in Week 10 when they take on the Seattle Seahawks in an NFC West divisional clash. It’s unclear if he will be able to do so after reportedly having arthroscopic knee surgery to repair his injured meniscus back on October 1, 2025.
The estimated timeline for recovery from this type of procedure is generally four to six weeks. He will have just cleared the four-week mark when next week’s game arrives, so it will be interesting to see if he’s able to return to the practice field.
In his absence, Bam Knight is expected to continue serving as their leading running back, with Emari Demercado as his primary backup. This trio could potentially serve as a committee whenever Benson is healthy enough to return, although their performances will likely determine their roles in the coming weeks.
None of them are currently featured in PFSN’s RB Impact Rankings, as the Cardinals’ backfield has essentially been a revolving door this year. According to PFSN’s Offense Impact, the team currently ranks 23rd in the season in terms of offense impact, with a score of 70.8.
Michael Carter has also contributed to some of the workload to account for the significant injuries to their top two options, including Conner being out for the remainder of the season.
Benson was impactful in his small sample size this year, appearing in four games and starting one of them, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. He totaled 29 attacks for 224 total yards, building off his rookie season experience. He was lightly used backing up Conner, totaling 40 touches for 133 total yards and two total touchdowns across three appearances so far in the 2025 season.