Cardinals RB James Conner reportedly landing on injured reserve, will miss at least 4 weeks with knee injury
The Arizona Cardinals have been trying to keep their head above water while Kyler Murray finishes recovering from a torn ACL, but that's about to get a lot more difficult.
Running back James Conner will land on injured reserve and miss multiple weeks with the knee injury sustained in Sunday's 34-20 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, NFL Network reports. No further details about Conner's injury were reported. A stint on injured reserve would require Conner to miss at least four weeks.
Conner's injury came in the second quarter. After breaking off a 35-yard run that helped set up a go-ahead touchdown, he jogged right into the blue tent and from there went into the locker room. He didn't return for the rest of the game. When he left, Conner had six carries for 46 yards.
An early spin move helps get James Conner all the way into the red zone. 😤
📺: #CINvsAZ on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/LxW25sxPWA pic.twitter.com/vEH46vbiX9— NFL (@NFL) October 8, 2023
Undrafted rookie Emari Demercado replaced Conner, and he had 57 yards on 11 carries with a touchdown. Keaontay Ingram would have typically been Conner's fill-in against the Bengals, but he's been dealing with a neck injury and was inactive Sunday.
The Cardinals claimed veteran running back Tony Jones Jr. off waivers Monday, though they also have a number of internal options to fill the Conner-shaped void left on the offense. Demercado was actually targeted Sunday and did pretty well with the increased playing time (he's also among the week's top fantasy pickups). Ingram is on the 53-man roster and will be a candidate once he's better. Damien Williams and Corey Clement are both experienced veterans currently on the practice squad.
Arizona is 1-4 and will face the Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns over the next four weeks. If Conner goes on injured reserve, he will miss all of those games. And with the timeline for Murray's return still fuzzy, the Cardinals are in real danger of letting their season slip away before it's even halfway over.