The Arizona Cardinals have made their call on James Conner, and it keeps the veteran running back in the fold for now.
According to Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro, Conner will open the 2026 season on injured reserve designated to return. That means he’ll miss at least the first four games of the regular season before becoming eligible to come back.
Conner has been working through a foot/ankle injury he suffered in Week 3 of last season, the same issue that sent him to injured reserve then. He has spent all preseason on the sideline and was limited to individual drills during training camp, never appearing in any of Arizona’s four exhibition games.
“James Conner will begin the season on IR designated to return.”
The move comes after a stretch of uncertainty around what Arizona would do with him at roster cutdown time. Conner is in the final year of his contract, and his situation had made him one of the more intriguing decisions on the roster bubble. He restructured his deal to remain with the Cardinals this offseason, even after the team signed Tyler Allgeier in free agency and then drafted Jeremiyah Love with the third overall pick.
The injury picture now includes another Cardinals back, Trey Benson, who is also on injured reserve. Benson is done for the season unless he reaches an injury settlement with the team and is released at some point in 2026, something that is considered likely.
Conner’s status had also been tied to the numbers game at running back. With Bam Knight already penciled onto the roster, Arizona faced the possibility of carrying four backs if Conner was going to stay. That made him a possible cut or trade candidate heading into today, especially with his role shrinking, his age, the injury, and the contract expiring.
Mike LaFleur said two weeks ago that the team wasn’t ready to pin down a return date.
“I’m not going to give you a timeline on it because we don’t know that timeline yet," Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur said on Conner's potential return two weeks ago.
"Like I’ve said multiple times, he’s played enough in this league and he’s earned the right to know when he is going to be able to return.
“It’s not return to play, it’s return to performance. Anyone can get back out there, but if they don’t feel like they can perform at the level that they’re capable of, why put them out there?
Particularly a vet like him who’s done it at such a high clip for so many years. I know he’s eager to get back and in due time I think we’ll see him.”
There may still be room for Arizona to keep four running backs, though. Evan Hull helped his case by turning heads in the preseason finale against Green Bay.
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