Cardinals High Draft Pick Fighting For Job After Tyler Allgeier Signing

The Arizona Cardinals made their first splash of free agency today with the addition of running back Tyler Allgeier.

Allgeier spent the first four years of his career with the Atlanta Falcons and now arrives to the desert to form a formidable duo with veteran James Conner, who just saw his contract restructured to remain with the team for 2026.

It's a big and bruising 1-2 punch that now has massive questions on Trey Benson's future in the desert.

Tyler Allgeier's Arrival Spells Bad News for Trey Benson

Arizona Cardinals running back Trey Benson (33) breaks out of the backfield against the Seattle Seahawks at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, on Sept. 25, 2025. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Benson's tenure in Arizona hasn't quite been ideal since arriving as a high third-round pick.

His rookie season saw early struggles from the Florida State product, often showing signs of indecisiveness in the backfield and sometimes simply not trusting his instincts.

After 2024 ended with some promising play, 2025 was expected to be a season full of excitement emerging out of the backfield. Plenty of Cardinals coaches and teammates made comments on the team having two starting running backs with a 1A and 1B approach.

Benson lasted just four games into the season thanks to a meniscus injury that was ultimately season-ending, hitting injured reserve for a second time after he spent part of his rookie season on the list too with an ankle problem.

Benson averaged 4.9 yards per carry on 29 attempts last season, though if you remove his one 52-yard rush, that average drastically drops to 2.5 yards per rush.

That's been Benson's ultimate problem: He's good for an explosive play that showcases the home run hitting ability he had in college, though for every explosive run, there's far too many other carries where he's not able find yards.

That's not all on Benson. Arizona's rushing attack took a laughable step backwards in 2025 where virtually nobody would have had success. Yet when judging off pure sample size, Benson is undoubtedly the odd man out when compared to a rotation of Allgeier and Conner.

Allgeier arrives to the Cardinals having fumbled zero times throughout his four seasons of NFL play while also giving Arizona another goal line/short yardage presence as a big, tough bruising ball-carrier.

Benson, still on his rookie contract, doesn't feel like he's a likely cut candidate entering training camp. However, Arizona moves into the next stages of the offseason with a clear hierarchy in their backfield under new head coach Mike LaFleur — one that has Benson third and last at this point in time.