Arizona Cardinals’ James Conner placed on IR, will miss at least four games

Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner has landed on the injured reserve list due to a knee issue suffered Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, the team announced Tuesday.

Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon told reporters on Monday that Conner could miss “a little bit of time.”

A hint at that extended length of time came when Arizona claimed running back Tony Jones Jr. on waivers.

“James will be back at some point but honestly just wanted to add another back for some depth there to make sure we’re OK there for practice and for the games,” Gannon said Monday.

Now that Conner has hit the injured reserve, he is not eligible to come of the list for the next four games, including road games at the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks before a hosting of the Baltimore Ravens and then a visit to the Cleveland Browns. He would be eligible to return on Nov. 12 against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10.

That midseason point could be one to keep an eye on with quarterback Kyler Murray also working back from his ACL injury suffered last December.

With Conner injured midgame, the Cardinals were also without backup Keaontay Ingram on Sunday due to a neck issue.

Undrafted rookie Emari Demercado and veteran practice squad call-up Corey Clements were atop the depth chart by the end of the loss against Cincinnati on Sunday.

Conner so far in 2023 has 68 carries for 364 yards and two touchdowns. He’s averaging 5.4 yards per carry, well above his first 28 combined games with the Cardinals over the past two years. He averaged 3.7 yards per carry in 2021 and 4.3 last season.

Conner has never averaged better than 4.5 yards per carry over a season in his career that dates back to 2017 with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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