Trey Benson Returns to Cardinals, But His 2026 Season in Arizona Is Over

The Arizona Cardinals saw Trey Benson clear waivers.

Sep 25, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back Trey Benson (33) against the Seattle Seahawks at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

ARIZONA — After the Arizona Cardinals waived Trey Benson with an injury designation, the third-year running back cleared waivers and is now back on the team's injured reserve list.

According to the NFL transaction wire, Benson was bypassed by all other 31 teams on the waiver list before landing back in Arizona. Traditionally, other teams will allow a player with a waived/injured designation to clear so they can land on IR in what's generally considered a procedural move.

Benson is working his way back from a meniscus injury that required surgery after he went down in Week 4 of last season.

Since Benson was placed on injured reserve before final roster cuts, he will effectively be out for the entire 2026 season — at least in Arizona. If Benson regains full health, the two sides can reach an injury settlement, which would allow Benson to hit the open market and potentially play elsewhere in 2026.

Benson was not spotted at Cardinals practice in recent days while his early participation was mostly restricted to individual drills during training camp practices. He did not play in any preseason games after a ramp-up to team activities saw a "flare-up" according to Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur.

LaFleur spoke with reporters minutes before Benson was waived with an injury designation:

"We're just taking it one day at a time with Trey right now. Truly, that's all I got for you with that," said LaFleur, who was then asked if Benson would be an injured reserve candidate.

"We'll probably have a better understanding of that, I would say, after we get out of this game."

As fate would have it, the Cardinals officially revealed less than an hour later that Benson would be placed on waivers, effectively ending his 2026 season in Arizona before it even started.

Benson struggled during his first two seasons in the desert after arriving with high expectations as the second running back taken in his class. His ability to break-off big runs at Florida State was only spotted irregularly with the Cardinals.

As for Arizona's running back room moving forward, the Cardinals will rely on a heavy 1-2 punch of Jeremiyah Love and Tyler Allgeier while James Conner is poised to take on RB3 duties.

Bam Knight also figures to be a strong rotational back with high chances of making the roster following his exclusion with starters in last week's preseason game.