The Arizona Cardinals provided an official injury update on running back Trey Benson and the news is worse than what was initially reported.
Head coach Jonathan Gannon told reporters on Wednesday that Benson is heading to injured reserve because of his knee injury. That means Benson will miss at least the next four games.
However, the Cardinals are putting him on the list with a designation to return, so clearly the injury isn't season-ending.
"Trey Benson is gonna go IR to return," Gannon said. "He came in Friday and it's a knee. But he should be able to return at some point this year."
This is a surprising turn of events after ESPN's Adam Schefter reported earlier in the day that the injury wasn't thought to be serious. That suggested Benson wouldn't miss much time, if any, but obviously that was not the case.
Schefter later added that Benson had arthroscopic knee surgery on his meniscus and is now slated to miss four to six weeks.
This is not only a blow for the Cardinals, but for Benson, also, as the second-year back was finally getting his opportunity in the aftermath of James Conner's injury, which has knocked him out for the rest of the season.
Who is Trey Benson's handcuff?
Based on the Cardinals' depth chart, that would be Emari Demercado, who is listed as the RB2 behind Benson. Arizona has two other running backs on the roster in Michael Carter and Bam Knight, and both should work behind Demercado.
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