The Cardinals opened running back Trey Benson‘s 21-day practice window on Nov. 19. Three weeks later, Benson isn’t able to return from injured reserve. He’ll miss the remaining of the season, in accordance with Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Benson hasn’t played since suffering a knee injury in a Week 4 loss to the Seahawks. The 2024 third-round pick from Florida State will wrap up his second season within the NFL with 160 rushing yards on 29 carries (5.5 YPC). He added 13 catches for one more 64 yards.
The Cardinals lost Benson every week after James Conner went down with a season-ending foot injury. With Benson, Conner, and mobile quarterback Kyler Murray largely unavailable due to injuries, Arizona ranks twenty sixth within the NFL in rushing. The Cardinals are one in every of seven teams averaging fewer than 100 yards per game on the bottom. That’s amongst the numerous reasons they’re 3-10 and on target to select near the highest of the 2026 draft.
Zonovan Knight leads the team with 271 rushing yards, but he has averaged a meager 3.3 per attempt. Emari Demercado has posted a whopping 7.8 YPC on just 31 totes, though an ankle injury has held him out of three straight games.
While it’s unclear if Demercado will return against the Texans in Week 15, the Cardinals will go without left tackle Paris Johnson, per Howard Balzer of CardsWire. Johnson, one in every of the league’s top tackles, is coping with a sprained MCL. His absence will make it even tougher for Arizona to drag an upset over Houston and its No. 1-ranked defense.