The Arizona Cardinals were the second-worst team in rushing yards per game (93.1) last season, ranking only ahead of the Las Vegas Raiders. They still need to address their offensive line problems that contributed to this, but at least they finally have a strong running back room.
Arizona made a bold draft gamble on Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love with the No. 3 overall pick. They also brought in one of the best backups in the league, former Atlanta Falcons RB Tyler Allgeier. These offseason moves should help Arizona turn its roster weakness into a strength, though the running back logjam raises questions about whether there is a follow-up move they still need to make.
The Cardinals should trade one of James Conner or Trey Benson
The Cardinals have six running backs on their roster and should consider trading one of James Conner or Trey Benson.
Conner took a pay cut to stay in Arizona, but is also 31 years old. It's fair to wonder whether he would've been cut, had he not agreed to a restructured deal given the severity of his season-ending ankle injury suffered last year.
Meanwhile, Benson is a better fit for Arizona's rebuilding timeline at 23 years old, but a season-ending knee injury of his own makes it difficult to properly evaluate his value.
Running back values are low in the NFL in general, especially for ones coming off major injuries. Not to mention, any team willing to give up assets for Conner needs to be a perfect match as far as a win-now team in desperate need of depth at the position.
All this to say, should Arizona ultimately trade one of Conner or Benson, fans shouldn't expect a significant haul. Still, given how expendable these players have become in the desert, it could be in the Cardinals' best interest to get whatever future assets they can to continue adding to this rebuild.
Seeing as Arizona is stuck in a loaded NFC West and coming off a three-win season, our preference would be to trade Conner, as Benson is the cleaner fit going forward. But after bringing in Love and Allgeier to address their lackluster running game, both Conner and Benson should be considered expandable.
Keeping all these running backs around is diminishing returns, and the Cardinals have so many other areas to address to get even close to .500.
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