Michael

Carter

Carter was cut by Arizona at the end of training camp. He bounced between their practice squad and active roster early in the year before injuries to James Conner and Trey Benson forced them to keep him around as a permanent member of the 53-man roster. He primarily served as the team’s top pass-catching option for the first few months of the year. Carter hit double-digit carries once before December but caught five passes on three occasions. Bam Knight then went down with an ankle injury, allowing Carter to take over as the team’s lead option between the tackles for the final month of the year. Carter finished the season with 92 carries for 333 yards and one touchdown. He also added 33 catches for 267 yards through the air. Carter, Knight, and Emari Demercado will all be options for the Cardinals’ RB3 gig next year. All three are free agents, though Carter is the only unrestricted free agent.

With the Cardinals down 13-0 early and 23-7 at halftime, there wasn’t much opportunity to establish the run, not that Carter will ever be treated as a between-the-tackles banger. Still shedding a non-trivial amount of work to Emari Demercado, Carter does not profile as a great Week 18 play against the Rams.

Carter failed to catch either of his two targets. The shifty rusher looked great on runs up the middle, twisting and grinding through contact right out of the gate. His 22-yard run on the Cardinals’ second drive helped set up the offense’s lone touchdown. Carter is a high-end RB3 against the Bengals in Week 17.

This news doesn’t come as much of a surprise, but we appreciate the clarity. With Bam Knight (ankle) now on injured reserve, Carter will get the opportunity to handle RB1 duties against a Falcons defense that ranks 25th in rushing yards allowed and 24th in yards per carry allowed. Carter played on 53 offensive snaps last week compared to Emari Demercado, who was in on just seven snaps. Carter will have some appeal as a FLEX play in Week 16.

Knight is expected to undergo an MRI on Monday to confirm the diagnosis, but the belief is that he did not break anything. Knight is highly unlikely to play in Week 16’s game against the Falcons, and depending on the severity of his injury, it wouldn’t be surprising if this proved to be season-ending. We’ll check back in with an update when the team provides one, but an already thin Cardinals backfield could be looking at Emari Demercado and Michael Carter as it’s top two options down the stretch.

Carter was nearly an every-down running back, playing 49-of-62 snaps after Zonovan Knight’s early exit. Emari Demercado played just seven snaps behind him and didn’t really look himself. Of course, it’s possible that next week Demercado gets a larger share of the load as he — in theory — recovers more from his high-ankle sprain. Whoever totes the head of the Arizona role has some real RB3/FLEX fantasy equity against the Falcons next week, and Carter comes out of this week’s game looking like he’ll have the best shot at the role after Demercado’s disappointing day.

Demercado could need another week to rehab his high-ankle sprain, but Friday’s report will clarify things. Cardinals RB Bam Knight has out-touched RB Michael Carter in each of the last three games, totaling 38 touches to Carter’s 23. Should Demercado return this week, he could reduce both players’ workloads. With all three on the field in Weeks 10-11, Knight totaled 20 touches while Demercado handled 14 and Carter took 10. Stay tuned.

The season is over for Benson, who never came back from the knee injury he suffered in October. He ends the season with 160 rush yards (5.5 yards per carry) and 13 receptions for 64 scoreless yards. Benson was set to function as the Cardinals’ lead back after James Conner went down for the year. That never materialized, and now Bam Knight serves as the nominal RB1 in the Arizona backfield. Knight, who has 25 touches over the past two games, profiles as a usable flex this week against the Texans.

The Arizona backfield didn’t have much going on in a blowout loss that saw Jacoby Brissett drop back to pass 50 times. Bam Knight led the backfield with seven rushes for just 16 yards, but it was Carter who ran 25 pass routes to 17 routes for Knight. Carter, who had 47 yards on five receptions last week against the Bucs, appears to be the Cards’ primary pass-catching running back. He’s only relevant in the deepest fantasy formats.

Although Carter was out-touched 14-10 by Bam Knight, Pro Football Focus charted him as having the snap advantage. That’s not particularly surprising with Arizona playing from behind on the road. Carter nevertheless watched Knight not only generate the only score out of the Cardinals’ backfield, but through the air. That’s supposed to be his department. It’s unclear what anyone’s department will be in Week 14 if Trey Benson finally returns from his knee injury against the Rams. With or without Benson, Carter will not be a recommended 12-team league FLEX unless you’re truly desperate.