Kingsbury: Eno Benjamin’s release ‘what’s best’ for Arizona Cardinals
Nov 16, 2022, 6:00 PM
TEMPE — Among the multiple developments that took place on Monday, the release of running back Eno Benjamin ranked right up there at the top in terms of most surprising.
After manning starting RB duties over three games and looking like a legit contributor in head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s offense, Benjamin getting the ax was about the last thing any of us could have suspected.
“We’re always going to do what’s best for the organization,” Kingsbury said Wednesday. “I’m not going to get into a lot of details on it but it’s just one of those cases.”
#AZCardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury when asked about the surprise release of RB Eno Benjamin:
“We’re always going to do what’s best for the organization.” pic.twitter.com/wusUlqJITu
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) November 16, 2022
While it’s not known what exactly went down — quarterback Kyler Murray was mum on the situation when asked Wednesday — several reports painted a picture of frustration on Benjamin’s part over playing time.
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After seeing no less than 54% of the team’s available offensive snaps from Weeks 5-8, Benjamin saw his field time cut in half with just 27% of snaps played in Week 9. Then came this past Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, when the running back recorded a single snap with Arizona opting to give starter James Conner the bulk of the backfield playing time.
“I think each case is different, it’s case by case,” Kingsbury said Wednesday when the topic of frustration over playing time was brought up. “Coaches want to do the best job they can by playing the best players they can and maximizing the personnel. Sometimes we’re right, sometimes we’re wrong but you have to ultimately get on the same page and if you don’t like your situation you got to work harder and do right by the team and your teammates and your coaches.
“There’s a lot of different ways to do it, you see it all the time in this day in age that it gets done, but I don’t have the exact answer. … It’s case by case and what I’ve seen is if you really want to be on the field, you earn the time and you prove to your coaches that you deserve to be out there.”
Benjamin will now look to latch onto the Houston Texans, who claimed the running back off of waivers on Tuesday. Houston was atop the waiver order, with Kansas City and Seattle also reportedly putting a claim in for Benjamin.
