Entering their bye week on a five-game losing streak and without their top two running backs, the Arizona Cardinals have certainly seen better days. After James Conner sustained a season-ending foot injury on September 21, all eyes turned to Trey Benson. The former third-round pick was finally in the driver’s seat for an extensive workload in the Cardinals’ backfield.
However, a meniscus injury brought that experiment to a screeching halt. Benson went down in Arizona’s September 25 loss to the Seattle Seahawks after carrying the ball just eight times and adding five receptions.
When Will Trey Benson Return From His Injury?
The Cardinals eventually placed Benson on injured reserve after the second-year running back underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee. The move sidelined Benson for the team’s next four games, with the November 9 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys marking his earliest possible return date.
Head coach Jonathan Gannon believes that Benson gutted through the injury when it happened against Seattle. At the time, there were multiple head-scratching instances where Benson was relieved from the field in favor of Emari Demercado. If Benson was indeed hindered by his injury in that game, it’s now apparent why he conceded so many touches.
The situation gets worse when considering the quarterback position. When your quarterback is your leading rusher, that is never a good sign. This even applies when that quarterback is as dynamic as Kyler Murray, who is known to evade pressure, scramble out of the pocket, and churn out yardage with his legs. Regardless, that approach exposes Murray to unnecessary contact. Murray has already missed the Cardinals’ last two games with a foot injury, paving the way for Jacoby Brissett to start under center in his place. Arizona lost both games.
In Benson’s absence for the last three weeks, the Cardinals have operated with a three-headed committee in the backfield and have found little success. Between Emari Demercado, Michael Carter, and Zonovan Knight, only Demercado has surpassed 60 rushing yards in a single game, which was thanks in large part to a 71-yard scamper against the Tennessee Titans.
Carter has just 97 yards on the ground on 35 carries, Knight has 102 yards on 29 carries, and Demercado has 90 yards on only eight carries. Even after playing in just five games, Murray is still the team’s leading rusher with 173 yards on 29 attempts.
Barring any outside acquisitions, this committee could represent the future of the Cardinals’ backfield. Conner has another year remaining on the two-year extension he signed with the team in 2024, but he will turn 31 years old this offseason. According to Over the Cap, if the Cardinals were to release him, they would only take on a dead cap charge of $2.3 million.
