The Arizona Cardinals made a seriously head-scratching move on Monday, releasing Trey Benson, their third-round draft pick from just two years ago, with a waiver/injury designation. This isn’t just a standard roster cut; teams just don’t typically ditch high draft capital like a third-rounder after only two seasons. It tells you everything you need to know about where they stand with their running back room, and Benson’s health.
Stacked Backfield, High Hopes
This offseason, the Cardinals were already talking big, saying they’d roll into the 2026 season with maybe the best running back room in the league. Their offense was supposed to get a huge boost with all the new faces. They picked Jeremiyah Love with the third overall pick in this year’s draft, which instantly added crazy talent to the group. Then they went out and signed Tyler Allgeier from the Atlanta Falcons in free agency and re-signed Bam Knight and Corey Kiner from last year’s roster. Coming into training camp, everyone knew two veterans were huge question marks: James Conner and Benson. Both spent last year on IR, and everyone was waiting for camp to clear things up. Benson, for his part, was actually a starting running back at the beginning of last year, a 2024 third-round pick who absolutely tore it up at Florida State with 990 and 906 rushing yards in his final two seasons and a massive 23 touchdowns. He knew how to find the end zone.
The Injury Curse and Zero Trade Market
Here’s where it all went sideways. Benson got his big shot last year when Conner went down with an injury in Week 3. What happened next? Benson suffered a brutal meniscus injury the very next week and landed him on IR after surgery. And man, that recovery has just dragged on, straight through training camp this year. He had a major flare-up with his left knee that kept him completely off the practice field. Seriously, he didn’t play a single snap in any preseason games. Of course, he would have had trade value if he was healthy; you’re not keeping eight running backs, even with a third-round pick. But being sidelined completely tanked any interest. Nobody wants to buy a car with a blown engine. The Cardinals had options too: put him on IR again for the whole season, or keep him on the 53-man roster for a day then IR him to bring him back later. Instead, they just waived him. They even opened his practice window last year, but the coaching staff just never put him back in. It’s a rough break for a guy with that kind of college production.
So, the Cardinals are rolling with their super-packed running back room, but they just burned a third-round pick in the process. This move tells you they’re all-in on their current, healthy options. It’s a harsh reminder of how quickly NFL careers can get derailed by one lingering injury. This team is clearly not messing around, and we’ll see if that depth pays off now that they’ve made such a tough call.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Revenge of the Birds.
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