The Arizona Cardinals have their top two running back currently dealing with injuries as they prepare for the Los Angeles Rams in Week 17. James Conner exited the game on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers with a knee injury and rookie Trey Benson missed the game with an ankle injury.
While one report suggests that Conner could miss the rest of the season based on his situation and the injury, head coach Jonathan Gannon is not ready to rule him out, and the same goes for Benson.
While Gannon ruled out both starting left tackle Paris Johnson and starting right tackle Jonah Williams, both of whom have knee injuries, for this week, he would not do the same for Conner or Benson.
He believes they have a shot at going Saturday night.
“We’ll kind of see how they go, but that’s obviously why I didn’t rule them out,” he said Tuesday. “I know they both have a chance to play.”
The Cardinals’ first day of practice on Tuesday was to be only a walkthrough, so the injury report will be only an estimation.
If neither is able to play, it will mean a bigger role for other guys. Michael Carter, currently on the practice squad, “would get a lot of carries,” and then DeeJay Dallas would likely move into the backup role while Tony Jones Jr., also on the practice squad, would likely fill the third-down role that Dallas has had the last two games since Emari Demercado was placed on injured reserve.
The Cardinals and Rams play Saturday night at SoFi Stadium at 8:15 p.m. ET.
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