Cardinals Cut Trey Benson After Knee-Wrecked Season and a Crowded RB Room
Benson averaged 4.9 YPC in Arizona but managed just 451 yards in 17 games. A lingering knee and a stacked backfield sealed his exit.
Waived, injured knee, and no clear landing spot make him a non-factor now.
- Benson waived after just 17 games in two years
- 4.9 YPC but only 451 rush yards, 1 TD as a Cardinal
- Knee surgery ended his 2026 after Week 4
- Drafted 3rd round in 2024 out of Florida State
- Arizona took Jeremiyah Love No. 3 in April
Arizona is done waiting on Trey Benson. The Cardinals waived the 2024 third-round pick this week after two injury-plagued seasons that produced just 451 rushing yards and one touchdown across 17 games. He was efficient when he got the ball — 4.9 yards per carry — but the touches never came and the health never held.
Benson was supposed to be the heir to James Conner. Instead, a torn meniscus in his left knee ended his 2026 season after Week 4, right as Conner's season-ending foot injury was about to hand him the lead role. Surgery was pegged as a 4-6 week absence, but Benson never made it back and finished the year on IR. That same knee had bothered him throughout training camp.
The math got worse from there. Arizona spent the No. 3 overall pick in April on Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love, the presumed lead back once he recovers from a high-ankle sprain suffered in the preseason opener against the Raiders. Add free-agent signing Tyler Allgeier and a still-rostered Conner, and Benson simply had no runway left.
The Fantasy Fallout
Benson's fantasy resume was always about hope over production. He posted 35 PPR points across four games in 2025 (160 rush yards, 13 catches for 64) — flashes of upside buried under a lack of volume. If he lands somewhere on a training-camp deal, it'll be with a knee that's still a question mark, which caps any redraft appeal to deep-league dart throw at best.
Allgeier is the more actionable name here. He's our #154 overall (RB38) after logging 514 rush yards and eight touchdowns over 17 games in 2025 (123 PPR points), though his last five outings ran 2.4 fantasy points below his season average. With Love mending and Conner aging, Allgeier has a real path to early-season carries in Arizona.
Bottom line: drop Benson in all but the deepest dynasty formats and stash the profile. His talent was never the issue — the durability and the depth chart were. Redirect that roster spot toward Allgeier if you're chasing Arizona's backfield touches while Love heals.
