James Conner

LaFleur could only say the team was taking things “week to week” when asked if Conner will play this year. It sounds like the veteran running back may ultimately miss the entire season. With Jeremiyah Love on IR, Tyler Allgeier will handle the bulk of the backfield touches versus Seattle.

Conner has been on injured reserve all season while continuing to work his way back from the brutal foot/ankle injury he suffered last season. If he does return, Conner will join a fairly crowded backfield and would be nearly impossible to trust in fantasy as long as Jeremiyah Love and Tyler Allgeier are both healthy.

Same goes for TE Tip Reiman (ankle). LaFleur said he does not check in with the medical staff about them “on the daily,” but he “knows they’re doing well.” Neither player needs to be rostered in 12-team formats. Conner may be fantasy-relevant later in the year, but a lot would have to go wrong beforehand for that to be the case.

Conner will miss at least four games to start the year as he continues to work his way back from the ankle injury that ended his 2025 season. The team can designate him to return after Week 4. With Jeremiyah Love also banged up, Tyler Allgeier could be in for a hefty workload early in the season.

Conner suffered a season-ending ankle injury early in the 2025 season. He avoided the PUP list to start training camp but has yet to participate in 11-on-11 drills. With the season nearly two weeks away, it certainly doesn’t look like Conner will be available for Week 1. Trey Benson is on injured reserve and Jeremiyah Love is on the mend with an ankle issue of his own. It’s possible Tyler Allgeier earns a three-down role to open the season, making him a priority target for ZeroRB drafters.

It doesn’t sound like Conner has a great chance of being available for Week 1, and if he’s not yet able to fully practice it’s certainly on the table for Conner to start the year on injured reserve or the reserve/PUP list. Conner took a paycut this offseason and is due $2.35 million guaranteed in 2026 after suffering a season-ending injury in Week 3 last year.

The four running backs are Jeremiyah Love, Tyler Allgeier, James Conner, Trey Benson. Given the recent draft capital and financial investments in Love and Allgeier, those two are obviously locks to make the final squad. Conner, 31, and Benson, 24, seem like reasonable trade candidates. Both players’ seasons ended prematurely due to injury. Conner has one year left on his deal. Benson has two. Love should take over the starting role soon enough, but perhaps the RB2 battle could take a while to sort through. Weinfuss believes “Conner and Benson won’t roll over easily and give their jobs away.” If they do indeed keep four running backs, and one player were to miss time, this might make for a tough waiver wire read.

Graziano could only be referring to James Conner and Trey Benson. He noted that Conner took a pay cut this offseason, which could signal that he’s still in the Cardinals’ plans, making a Benson deal potentially more likely. That seems unlikely, though, considering Arizona brought in Tyler Allgeier and Jeremiyah Love this offseason. Conner is still working off to the side with trainers at practice as he recovers from ankle surgery, but if he can return to the practice field soon then a trade could be in his future. Graziano mentioned the Bengals and Giants as teams that could be looking for running back help.

Conner suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 3 last year. Earlier this offseason, he agreed to a revised contract that pays him $2.35 million this year. The Cardinals signed RB Tyler Allgeier to a two-year, $12.25 million deal one day later, before spending the No. 3 overall pick on former Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love. If Conner can resume practicing soon, it might increase the odds of a running back-needy team acquiring him via trade.

That’s the kind of contract that makes us think Tyler Allgeier is the leader of a committee in Arizona this year if everyone is healthy. The good news for Conner is that $2.1 million is guaranteed, so the Cardinals barely save anything letting him walk. His roster spot should be relatively safe.

The good news about the restructure is that it will keep Conner in Arizona next year, giving him a real shot to head the backfield again depending on how his foot/ankle injury rehab is coming along. Because of how it was reported, it’s almost certainly actually a pay cut for Conner, who would likely have faced a tough market. Conner and fellow injury rehabber Trey Benson figure to again split carries in Arizona in 2026 if both are healthy.

This doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Conner will be 31 at the start of next season and missed most of 2025 with a season-ending foot/ankle injury he suffered in Week 3. Releasing Conner would save the Cardinals $8 million against the cap in 2026, and would carry a dead cap hit of just $2.250 million if he’s released as a pre-June 1 cut. Conner rushed 32 times for 95 yards and a touchdown last season while also catching eight passes for 38 yards and another score. With his best days likely behind him, Conner would be an uninspiring fantasy lead back wherever he plays next season. It is possible he finds a situation good enough to land in the Zero RB ranks.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported late last night that Conner “did in fact suffer a season-ending injury,” but Gannon officially confirmed things on Monday. The veteran running back suffered a devastating ankle injury that required him to be carted from the field and will undergo surgery soon. Conner, 30, remains under contract with the Cardinals through the 2026 season and will turn 31 in March.

Things were already trending in this direction given the gruesome nature of the injury. The Cardinals still don’t know the full extent of Conner’s injury, which will require surgery, but the veteran running back is likely looking at a long road to recovery. Conner signed a two-year contract extension last offseason and is officially under contract through 2026. However, he also carries a low dead cap hit of just $2.250 million and given his age (31), and the latest injury, it’s fair to wonder if the his time with the Cardinals could be coming to an end. Conner’s season ends with a rushing line of 32-95-1. Second-year running back Trey Benson is expected to takeover the lead role in Conner’s absence and profiles as a strong RB2 going forward.

Weinfuss notes that an official prognosis hasn’t been made, but the team clearly fears the worst. Conner suffered a brutal injury in Sunday’s loss and had to be carted from the field. While he hasn’t officially been ruled out for any length of time, it sounds like the team is preparing to be without him for the rest of the season if tests confirm the worst. It’s a tough blow for Conner, 30, who has rushed for 1,000-plus yards in back-to-back seasons. If he is lost for the season, Trey Benson could be forced into a decent bell cow role while Emari Demercado gets elevated to RB2 duties.

Conner’s ankle was bent backward on a tackle in the third quarter. He immediately reached for the ankle after the play and stayed on the field for trainers to come check him out. He was forced to ride the cart into the locker room and the entire Cardinals’ bench stepped onto the turf to see him off. Trey Benson will close out Week 3 as the Cardinals’ lead back. He will likely be the starter in Week 4 against the Seahawks.

What’s clear after two weeks of regular season play is that Conners’ weekly upside will be capped by Trey Benson’s involvement in the Arizona backfield. Benson on Sunday had three carries and four receptions, and ran one more pass route than Conner. Conner saw much of the goal line work and punched in a one-yard rush for a touchdown in the first half. He underwhelmed overall against a Carolina defense that was bludgeoned on the ground by the Jaguars in Week 1. Conner should still be a decent RB2 play in Week 3 against the Niners.

It was an inefficient first week for Conner, tallying 44 yards on 16 total touches. He is still the lead back in the Cardinals offense, getting seven more touches than backup Trey Benson. Conner was stuffed on a carry near the goal line, but was later able to score on a shovel pass from Kyler Murray. Good games will come to Conner when the Cardinals are in a run-heavy game script, but his upside is a bit limited because the offense lacks the blocking up front for explosive runs and the 30-year-old has shown a decline in his burst. Volume keeps Conner in the low-end RB2 range for Week 2 against the Panthers.

Conner got the start, broke a tackle and checked out. He ceded one first-drive snap to Trey Benson, who then remained on-field with Kyler Murray for a second drive, plus two more drives with Jacoby Brissett. Conner remains the entrenched lead back in Arizona. Benson rushed nine times for 29 yards and caught 1-of-1 targets for 20 yards.

Conner’s remarks come after the Cardinals’ red-white practice, which took place on Saturday. Conner and Benson are expected to split more of the workload in 2025 after head coach Jonathan Gannon said during the offseason that the team “should have two No. 1 backs” this season. Conner also added, per Cardinals team writer Darren Urban, that Benson “is going to play a lot this season.” Conner is entering his age-30 season and is well beyond the running back age cliff. With that in mind, he’s also coming off his second-straight 1,000-yard rushing season and had a career-high 1,500 yards from scrimmage. Whether or not Benson’s opportunities will prove beneficial for fantasy purposes is hard to predict, but for a player who is going in the double-digit rounds of fantasy drafts, he could prove to be a solid sleeper that has high-end RB2 upside should Conner ever miss time.