The Arizona Cardinals’ season opened with two wins that weren’t exactly convincing against the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers, followed by two divisional losses that hurt their playoff chances early on. But the bigger issue has been the number of injuries piling up at the start of the year.
After losing running back James Conner for the season in the game against the San Francisco 49ers, the Cardinals are now dealing with another setback at the position with Trey Benson. He was added to the injury report and is set to miss time.
Cardinals Make Decision on Trey Benson
The Cardinals are facing serious injury issues this season. They already have 10 players on injured reserve, the highest number in the NFL. Their two divisional losses have left them well behind other teams in the division, with a 2-2 record after four weeks.
Drew Petzing’s offense doesn’t seem to be clicking with the players, particularly in the pairing with quarterback Kyler Murray. That makes the running game a key part of the scheme, and losing Conner has already weakened the game plan.
Benson hadn’t yet established himself as hoped. The second-string back has no rushing touchdowns this season and has surpassed 50 rushing yards only in week 1. He led the backfield against the Seattle Seahawks but injured his knee late in the game, and the Cardinals have placed him on the injured reserve.
“Cardinals RB Trey Benson is being placed on injured reserve due to his knee injury,” wrote NFL insider Adam Schefter on X. “Trey Benson is expected to return this season, but he will miss a minimum of four games due to a knee injury.”
Schefter then provided another update on Benson’s injury, which was even more concerning. “Cardinals RB Trey Benson, who is being placed on injured reserve due to a knee injury, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his meniscus and now is expected to be sidelined 4-to-6 weeks, per source.”
Trey Benson to injured reserve with a designation to return with a knee injury, per Arizona Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon @PHNX_Cardinals pic.twitter.com/CGMedMgubn
— Bo Brack (@BoBrack) October 1, 2025
Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon mentioned that Benson is expected to “return at some point this year, ” which indicates that the running back is likely to significant time.
With Benson out, the next name on the depth chart is Emari DeMercado, in his third NFL season, with just four carries for eight yards this year. He appeared in 13 games last season, recording one touchdown and 223 yards, complementing Arizona’s backfield.
The Cardinals’ offense hasn’t had a strong start to the season, ranking as the ninth-worst in PFSN Offense Impact with a D+ grade. On top of that, Benson hasn’t stood out either, receiving a C- in PFSN RB Impact. His absence would add another layer to an already depleted running back group that has struggled to produce results in 2025.
It’s also expected that, with Benson out, the Cardinals will rely more on Michael Carter in the committee and put Murray in more designed run situations, which has traditionally worked well but has been used less frequently this season.
