Cardinals’ James Conner out for year after gruesome foot injury, coach confirms

Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner is out for the rest of the season after going down with a gruesome foot injury in Sunday’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers, coach Jonathan Gannon confirmed Monday.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the injury is “severe” and will require surgery.

Five plays into the second half, the running back went down with the gruesome injury.

Trainers and the cart were quickly brought out with both teams taking a knee. He was immediately ruled out.

#AZCardinals come out for James Conner, who leaves on a cart. Conner is the team’s emotional bellwether. They are going to have to overcome that now. pic.twitter.com/rhenfurYyP

— Darren Urban (@Cardschatter) September 21, 2025

He left the game after carrying the ball nine times for 22 yards. He caught three passes for 15 yards.

With Conner out, the Cardinals turned to Trey Benson and Emari Demercado to pick up the slack in an offense that sputtered along against San Francisco.

Benson finished the game as Arizona’s leading rusher with 42 yards on 10 carries. He added three catches for nine yards.

Demercado ran the rock twice for zero yards and did not reel in his only target that likely would have resulted in a Cardinals touchdown.

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