The Cardinals’ additions of Tyler Allgeier and Jeremiyah Love this offseason accompanied a James Conner pay cut. Trey Benson appeared to be on the roster bubble after these moves. Despite Conner and Love not at full strength, the Cardinals are moving on from Benson.
Arizona waived Benson with an injury designation today. The move comes as Josh Sweat makes his practice debut after spending more than a month on the team’s active/PUP list.
The knee injury that cost Benson most of his 2025 season flared up recently, keeping him out of the Cardinals’ preseason slate. After a rumor pointed to the former third-round pick being on the roster bubble, Benson is in limbo presently.
He would revert to IR if unclaimed on waivers. Considering the Florida State product’s health situation, it would surprise if a team claimed him. The Cardinals could either keep him on IR this year or remove him from that list with an injury settlement — a common late-summer move for teams in this situation.
Benson’s 2025 season ended in Week 4. While that injury did not initially look like it would end his second NFL slate, Benson was not activated after being designated for return in November. He reverted to season-ending IR, as the Cardinals played most of last season without he and Conner. Arizona’s grim RB situation last year prompted the Allgeier and Love additions this spring, and with Conner avoiding the active/PUP list to open camp, he is moving toward being ready for Week 1 — even if the 10th-year vet has not been a full participant in practice yet.
Averaging an impressive 5.5 yards per carry before going down last season, Benson served as Conner’s backup as a rookie. He averaged 4.6 YPC in 2024. Benson, the No. 66 overall pick in 2024, has taken just 92 handoffs in two seasons. He would be an interesting pickup for a team short on RBs, but it would appear such a path is on pause due to his knee flareup.
A knee issue has also hindered Sweat this offseason. The high-priced free agency pickup did not participate in Cardinals OTAs and has been on the active/PUP list since the team reported to camp. Sweat, who has been the subject of trade rumors, will be on track to start the season on time for Arizona. Three years remain on his contract.
The Cardinals are not presently interested in trading Sweat, who had drawn interest earlier this year. More calls figure to come in, especially now that Sweat is off the PUP list. The former Eagles standout signed a four-year, $76.4MM deal with the Cardinals, following former Philly DC Jonathan Gannon to the desert.
The Cards fired Gannon in January but ended up retaining DC Nick Rallis — also an ex-Eagles assistant. The EDGE market has changed significantly since Sweat’s March 2025 contract agreement, and the Super Bowl LIX difference-maker is coming off a season in which he totaled a career-high 12 sacks. Sweat’s contract includes fully guaranteed 2026 compensation but no guarantees for 2027 and ’28.
In addition to the Benson and Sweat transactions, the Cardinals placed wide receiver Xavier Weaver on IR. A 2025 UDFA, Weaver suffered a hamstring injury in the Cards’ third preseason game. The team signed safeties Hudson Clark and Devyn Bobby and waived tight end Baylor Cupp and Bryson Green.
