The Arizona Cardinals got a potential blow to their running backs’ room on Nov. 27, as Trey Benson was absent during the open portion of practice.
The Cardinals opened Benson’s three-week practice window on Nov. 19 and he had been a limited participant in every practice since. But in the Cardinals’ first practice of this week on Nov. 26, Benson appeared to have discomfort in his knee. As he went through individual drills, he repeatedly shook his leg off and reached for his injured knee, as if trying to get comfortable.
Then, on Nov. 27, he was absent — a sign that he is unlikely to make his return in Week 13 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Meanwhile, pass catching running back Emari Demercado missed another practice as he deals with an ankle sprain suffered in Week 11. That leaves the Cardinals with three healthy running backs on the active roster: Bam Knight, Michael Carter and Jermar Jefferson.
Knight has operated as the Cardinals’ lead early-down back in recent weeks and continued that role against the Jaguars, with 10 carries to Carter’s five. But the Cardinals typically deploy Carter in more of a pass-catching role, which has come to the forefront recently with their heavy reliance on the passing game.
Against the Jaguars, quarterback Jacoby Brissett dropped back 58 times, compared with only 18 designed runs. As a result, Carter out-snapped Knight, 47 to 37, with Jefferson appearing only on special teams. Carter also ran more routes than Knight — 30 to 17 — although Knight saw five targets to Carter’s three.