The Cardinals’ crowded backfield just got one name lighter.
On Monday, Arizona released Trey Benson with a waiver/injury designation, a move that came after a training camp stretch in which his left knee kept him off the field. Benson cleared waivers and reverted to the Cardinals, leaving the team with a decision to make on whether to keep him, place him on IR and rehab him in the building, or settle with him and move on completely.
It’s a sharp turn for a player who entered the league as a third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and looked like part of Arizona’s long-term plan. Benson arrived after two strong seasons at Florida State, where he ran for 990 yards and 906 yards and scored 23 touchdowns across those two years. But in the NFL, the promise has been hard to separate from the injuries.
His best opening came last season when James Conner went down in Week 3. Benson was supposed to get a real shot at handling the load, only to suffer a significant meniscus injury the next week and land on IR after surgery.
That recovery has carried over into this camp, and a flare-up in his left knee kept him out of practices. He didn’t appear in any preseason games and wasn’t practicing.
That lack of availability wiped out any real trade market. A healthy Benson would have carried value, especially for a team that wasn’t going to keep all eight running backs in camp.
But once he was sidelined, the interest disappeared. As the source put it: “Nobody wants a vehicle that has a blown engine.”
The injuries are the bigger issue, though. Benson missed time in his rookie year with an ankle injury that ended his season early and sent him to IR.
He finished that year with 291 rushing yards and a touchdown on 63 carries, plus 59 receiving yards on six catches. In college, he also missed the entire 2020 season with a torn ACL.
None of that means the talent isn’t there. It just means the Cardinals have reason to wonder how often they’ll actually get to use it.
And Benson isn’t being squeezed out in a vacuum. Arizona’s backfield has become a numbers game.
The Cardinals drafted Jeremiyah Love third overall, signed Tyler Allgeier in free agency, and brought back Bam Knight and Corey Kiner. James Conner is still in the mix, too, and the veteran has long been the most established option in the room.
The preseason has only made that competition tighter. Knight had 12 carries for 58 yards against the Panthers, then 3 carries for 15 yards against the Raiders, and no stats against Dallas.
Kiner posted 14 carries for 57 yards and a touchdown in the Hall of Fame Game, then 10 carries for 59 yards against the Raiders, and 10 carries for 29 yards and a touchdown against the Cowboys. Evan Hull also flashed, leading all rushers with 11 carries for 51 yards against Dallas.
Conner hasn’t carried the ball in the preseason, which suggests the Cardinals are protecting him from any unnecessary risk. He’s a nine-year veteran with more than 6,000 rushing yards and 72 touchdowns, and his goal-line value still matters.
For Benson, though, the path back got much narrower. With Love and Allgeier in place and other backs making their case, Arizona had little room for a runner whose availability has become the central concern. The Cardinals now have to decide whether his next stop is IR, an injury settlement, or a clean break.
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