Trey

Benson

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.

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.

When the deadline to activate Benson from his 21-day window was mentioned to Gannon, he noted “that doesn’t mean you can’t activate him and then he could possibly be down.” It doesn’t sound like Benson is particularly close to returning at this point. Zonovan Knight will continue to fill in as the lead back in the meantime for the Cardinals.

Benson has been sidelined since Wednesday of last week. Whether he suffered a setback or his surgically repaired knee is simply responding poorly to his ramp-up period remains unknown. At this point, Cardinals RB Bam Knight appears to be heading toward another week operating as the team’s No. 1 running back.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon was noncommittal when asked about Benson’s status. The young back appeared to be nearing a return from injured reserve last week, but he was downgraded to a DNP on Thursday and was ruled out the following day after another missed practice. It’s possible he suffered a setback during practice. Needless to say, it doesn’t look like he will be back in the lineup this week. Emari Demercado was back at practice today, giving him a shot to suit up on Sunday after missing last week’s game with an ankle injury.

Benson was ruled out before the team took the field for Friday’s practice. The second-year back was a limited participant to start the week, but listed as a DNP on Thursday. He appeared to be trending toward a return after being limited in every practice ahead of Week 12’s game, so it’s possible we’re looking at a setback here. This remains a situation to monitor, but for now, we can expect the duo of Bam Knight and Michael Carter to lead the Cards’ backfield against the Buccaneers. In addition to Benson the Cardinals also ruled out OG Will Hernandez (hip/knee) and DT Walter Nolen (knee) for Week 13.

Benson could still get limited work in later on, but Benson appears to be heading toward a DNP today. The Cardinals’ running back logged four straight limited sessions dating back to last week. We were hoping to see him upgrade to full participation today or tomorrow. We will provide an update if the official injury report reveals that Benson did indeed manage to participate.

Benson remained limited in all three practices last week. His continued participation is good. He does not appear to have suffered any setbacks. Yet, his failure to progress to full participation keeps him firmly in the questionable camp to begin the week. Stay tuned.

Carter got involved on the Cardinals’ third drive, racking up 22 yards on two runs and one reception. He later stole a few two-minute drill snaps from RB Bam Knight in the two-minute drill, but he failed to return a usable stat line. Knight seemingly suffered some sort of right leg injury in overtime, perhaps aggravating his preexisting ankle injury. Depending on RB Trey Benson’s (knee) status next week, Carter could see more opportunities against the Buccaneers.

The Cardinals’ rookie cornerback will miss his third straight game. Fortunately, CB Garrett Williams (ankle) is active. Browning (concussion) and Harrison (appendicitis) have been unable to practice over the last two weeks. Cardinals RB Bam Knight should handle a sizable workload with Demercado (ankle) ruled out and RB Trey Benson (knee) not yet ready to return from injured reserve. Benson should be stashed at this time.