The Arizona Cardinals finally pulled the plug on the Trey Benson experiment Monday, waiving the running back with a knee injury after two seasons that were defined far more by what could have been than by what ever actually happened. Benson, a third-round pick out of Florida State in the 2024 NFL Draft, was once the kind of backfield bet that gets scouts nodding and fantasy managers excited. Instead, he leaves Arizona with 17 games, two starts, 451 rushing yards, one touchdown and a medical file thick enough to make the release feel inevitable rather than surprising.
A Pedigree That Never Got to Play
There was real juice when Benson walked into the building. At Florida State, he was a violent, one-cut runner who averaged 6.4 yards per carry over two seasons with the Seminoles, and his 2023 campaign — 906 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns in a work-sharing role — made him one of the most intriguing backs in that draft class. He ran a 4.39 40 at the combine with elite burst numbers, and the Cardinals grabbed him with the 81st overall pick, expecting him to eventually take over a backfield that was already aging around James Conner.
He flashed the talent in fits and starts. The problem was never the tape when he was healthy. The problem was that he was rarely healthy long enough to matter.
A Rookie Year of Blink-and-You-Missed-It
Benson played 13 games as a rookie in 2024, finishing with 291 yards and a touchdown on 63 carries — a respectable 4.6 yards per attempt that teased what the Cardinals thought they were getting. But the season ended the way his career in Arizona would repeatedly end: on injured reserve. An ankle injury cost him Weeks 16 and 17, and while the offseason brought fresh optimism, the pattern was already being written.
That rookie year made him a 2025 fantasy darling. Draft boards across the industry had him climbing all spring and summer, with managers betting on a second-year leap behind an improving offensive line. The hype was loud enough that when James Conner went down with a season-ending injury in Week 3 of the 2025 season, Benson's moment appeared to have finally arrived. He was the lead back. The role was his.
The Breakout That Broke Instead
It lasted exactly one week. In Week 4, Benson suffered a season-ending knee injury of his own, and the Arizona backfield — and Benson's career arc — collapsed in the same afternoon. The man who had been the most added running back on fantasy waiver wires in September was done by October, watching from the sideline as the Cardinals patched the position together without him.
The knee turned out to be the injury that never really healed. Benson entered the 2026 training camp fighting for a roster spot, but he missed time repeatedly as he continued to recover from the year-old injury. On a team that had completely re-engineered its backfield, he simply couldn't get on the field to state his case.
A Backfield With No Room Left
That was the real killer. The Cardinals didn't just wait for Benson this offseason — they rebuilt around him. James Conner was brought back. Tyler Allgeier was signed in free agency. And with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, general manager Monti Ossenfort took Jeremiyah Love, a generational talent out of Notre Dame who immediately became the face of the position group. Love and Allgeier give Arizona a thunder-and-lightning pairing with a defined starter, and Conner gives them a veteran safety net.
That is three running backs with established roles and a fourth whose knee wouldn't cooperate. There was no realistic path for Benson to make the 53-man roster, and both sides knew it.
What the Waiver Actually Means
Because Benson was waived with an injury designation, the process matters. He goes through waivers now, and here is the twist: if another team claims him, that team takes his contract and presumably stashes him on injured reserve. If he clears waivers — which is the more likely outcome for a running back coming off a knee injury who hasn't practiced consistently — he reverts to Arizona's injured reserve list, where he can be paid while he rehabs, and the Cardinals retain his rights.
For a 23-year-old with Benson's physical tools, that's not a death sentence. It's a reset. Players have washed out of one organization, healed up, and carved out real careers elsewhere. But the NFL is merciless with running backs, and Benson has now lost most of two seasons to injury. The clock on his prime is ticking whether he likes it or not.
The Fantasy Fallout
For anyone who rostered Benson in 2025, Monday's news closes a chapter that started with so much promise. He was the poster child for the running back position's cruelest lesson: opportunity in this league is often a one-week window, and if your body fails you at the exact wrong moment, the hype evaporates. Fantasy managers who burned early-round picks on him last season learned the hard way that draft capital and athletic testing don't survive contact with a torn ligament.
The waiver claim, if it comes, would be a pure stash move. If he clears and lands on IR, he's a name to revisit in 2027 training camps — not a player to spend anything on now.
The Bottom Line
The Cardinals' decision isn't a referendum on Benson's talent. It's a business decision made by a front office that watched a promising player spend two years in the training room and decided they could no longer wait. Arizona's backfield is set with Love, Allgeier and Conner; Benson was a luxury they could no longer afford in the form of a roster spot.
Somewhere in the league, there's a running backs coach who will look at Benson's film from 2024 and believe he can fix what went wrong. The ability was always real. The durability never was. Monday's waiver wire is the NFL telling Benson, in the bluntest possible terms, that potential only matters if it shows up on Sundays.
Marcus Bennett
Marcus Bennett breaks down games with a focus on style, pace, momentum, and matchup factors that help readers better understand the betting board.