Zonovan

Knight

The ankle injury suffered against the Texans in Week 15 will send the running back to season-ending IR. Knight had control of the lead role in the Cardinals backfield for the majority of the season after season-ending injuries to James Conner and Trey Benson left Arizona reliant on depth. The 24-year-old acquitted himself well with a 82/269/4 line on the ground, adding one receiving score on a 22/160 line through the air. He’ll be a restricted free agent this offseason. Knight showed enough to stick on a roster somewhere, even if he isn’t necessarily someone dynasty managers should build around.

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.

He was carted off the field after being tackled on his first carry. Knight left with minus-2 rushing yards. Though they initially called him questionable, FOX’s sideline reporter Jen Hale described Knight as being “in a tremendous amount of pain.” Knight may be staring at a season-ending injury.

Demercado has been sidelined since suffering a high-ankle sprain in Week 11. He’s expected to be active, according to Schefter, after getting in three limited practices during the week. Bam Knight has consistently out-touched Michael Carter in recent weeks and even if Demercado is active, he doesn’t figure to command even a third of the backfield touches in his first game back. None of the Cardinals’ running backs are particularly enticing against the Texans defense in the fantasy playoffs and Knight is truly the only usable option.

Even if Demercado does play this weekend, he seems unlikely to play on more than a few snaps. Demercado suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 11 against the 49ers and has been sidelined on game day since then. Expect Bam Knight to lead the backfield in touches this week, though he is just a FLEX, given the tough matchup.

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.

Michael Carter, meanwhile, had three carries for 13 yards and caught two balls for 18 yards in the loss. While Carter ran more pass routes than Knight, it was Knight who led the backfield with six targets on the day. Knight in Week 13 totaled 98 yards on 14 touches as the de facto lead back for Arizona. Knight will be flex worthy in deep leagues next week against a tough Texans defense that has shut down opposing ground games in 2025.

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.

Benson is entering the final week of his 21-day practice window. If he isn’t activated before the 21 days are up, the Cardinals are forced to leave him on injured reserve for the remainder of the season. Benson practiced on Wednesday two weeks ago but has been listed as a DNP ever since. He appears to have suffered a setback while recovering from the meniscus injury that has sidelined him since Week 4. At this point, it looks more likely than not that he is done for the year. Bam Knight will close out the season as Arizona’s top back.