The Cardinals thought they were set at running back when training camp opened. Instead, they’re staring at a room that’s been thinned out fast enough to make anyone nervous.
Against the Dallas Cowboys in a 33-30 road win, Arizona had only one healthy running back left on the roster during the game: veteran Tyler Allgeier. He made the most of it, rumbling for 147 yards and two touchdowns while carrying the offense through the finish.
The damage around him piled up quickly. Rookie Jeremiyah Love was available to play, but he re-injured an ankle.
Bam Morris, working as the game’s RB3, absorbed a hard shot to the helmet from Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown and had to exit. Morris also fumbled on the play with 21 seconds left in the first half, and Dallas pushed into field-goal range before its kicker hooked the attempt wide right.
Neither back came back. That left Allgeier to handle every carry, and he kept answering.
He scored on a 63-yard run with :57 left in the third quarter, then broke off a 52-yard run on his very next touch. Normally that kind of burst means a breather on the sideline.
Not here. The next snap went right back to Allgeier up the middle for four yards.
That’s how quickly a position that looked loaded in August turned into a survival test.
At training camp, the Cardinals’ running back group was viewed as one of the deepest parts of the roster. There were even whispers that Arizona might have too many backs.
James Conner was expected to be close to returning to practice. Trey Benson was in the mix too.
Bam Knight had been re-signed in March to a one-year deal. Corey Kiner was still under contract.
Then GM Monti Ossenfort used the third overall pick in the NFL Draft on Love.
Allgeier was one of the team’s splash additions in free agency, and after his successful run with the Atlanta Falcons, he was seen as the new starter before Love was drafted. In August, Arizona also claimed Evan Hull off waivers from the Houston Texans, and he flashed in the preseason. Tre Stewart was signed in mid-August as well.
For a while, it looked like a strength in numbers situation. Love, Allgeier, Conner, and Benson gave the room a stacked look. Knight appeared likely to settle in as a kickoff returner.
Then the roster started getting stripped down. Kiner was traded to the New England Patriots.
Stewart was cut on the final day of camp. Conner went on IR.
Hull was signed to the practice squad. Benson was waived, then reverted to the team after clearing waivers and was placed on the IR/injury list.
Arizona opened the season with Love as the starter, Allgeier as the backup, and Knight as RB3, with Hull stashed on the practice squad. The team kept waiting on Conner’s recovery and hoped he could eventually return.
With Love always carrying some uncertainty, the coaches brought Hull up as insurance, but he was inactive against Dallas. Nobody seemed to have the right forecast.
Now the Cardinals are dealing with even more uncertainty. Knight has a concussion, which at least explains why he won’t be available against the Seattle Seahawks.
Love’s situation is more complicated. He has been dealing with ankle problems since a preseason injury, and since then he has hurt both ankles.
Against the Cowboys, he suffered a higher ankle sprain. Some media outlets are already suggesting Arizona should shut him down, put him on IR, and let him heal fully for next year.
That would leave Allgeier and Hull to finish the season.
It’s a familiar kind of trouble for Arizona. The same thing happened last year, when injuries wiped out the top backs and the team had to grind through the end of the schedule with practice squad runners. The Cardinals are perilously close to that again, and if Allgeier goes down, the run game would fall entirely on Hull, a practice squad player.
Attrition hits every team. It just tends to show up hardest late in the year.
So what’s the answer? One move is obvious: elevate Jerome Ford from the practice squad now.
Ford, 27, is 5-foot-10 and 210 pounds. He was a fifth-round pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2022, back when Cleveland had Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, and D’Ernest Johnson. Ford made the roster and handled kickoff duties.
The next season, after Chubb suffered a devastating knee injury, Ford split work with Hunt and posted a career-high 813 yards on 204 carries with four touchdowns. He spent four seasons with the Browns and has 107 career receptions for 647 yards, so he’s also been part of the passing game.
That would give Arizona Allgeier, Ford as the backup, and Hull as RB3.
There are other possibilities, too. Cam Akers is still unsigned and would make sense as a reserve.
He has appeared in 59 NFL games with 17 starts, and Cardinals fans know him from his time with the Los Angeles Rams. Trayveon Williams, a sixth-round pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2019, has played in 75 games over seven seasons.
Or Ossenfort could keep digging through practice squads across the league and find a healthy body. Most teams have at least one running back tucked away somewhere. Some have more.
In Other News...
Cardinals Beat Cowboys But Suddenly Face A Brutal Injury Problem
The Cardinals got the kind of win that can steady a season, edging the Cowboys in overtime, but the mood in the aftermath was tempered by a long injury list that kept growing as the game wore on. Arizona was already navigating a physical night, and by the time it was over the team was dealing with issues across multiple position groups, from the backfield to the offensive line to the receiving corps.
Mike LaFleur said some of the injuries could cost players multiple weeks, and some could linger even longer, which is the bigger concern for a team trying to build on a hard-fought road win. Jeremiyah Love, Kendrick Bourne, Bam Knight, Jayden Williams, Reggie Virgil and Michael Wilson all came out of the game hurt in different ways, leaving the Cardinals with a victory on the scoreboard and a much murkier outlook heading into the next stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Win Had Cowboys Calling Out Their Own Defense
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Jerry Jones tried to steady the conversation by saying he is not looking at coaching changes right now, but the pressure around the defensive staff is only going to grow if the Cowboys keep fading late. For a team that expected its defense to set the tone, the way this one slipped away made the questions harder to avoid, even if the answers are still to come. [Read more 🡒]
Budda Baker Trade Buzz Puts Cardinals Fans On Edge
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The speculation comes at a time when the Cardinals are widely expected to be active sellers, with other players potentially on the move as the deadline nears. Baker has already acknowledged the business side of the NFL, which is why the rumor mill has felt especially uneasy for fans, even if there is still a strong sense around the league that this is a situation worth watching rather than assuming it will end with a deal. [Read more 🡒]