Arizona Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said that veteran kicker Matt Prater (knee) "will not go" in the Week 18 regular-season finale on Sunday against the division-rival San Francisco 49ers. Prater suffered a meniscus injury in his knee earlier this year and missed the last three months as a result. The 40-year-old kicker only ended up playing in four games in 2024 before injuring his knee in his fourth year with Arizona and 18th year in the NFL. In the four games he was active, Prater made all six of his field-goal attempts (one from 50-plus yards) and was successful on all 10 of his extra-point tries as well. Prater will be a free agent heading into his age-41 season in 2025. Chad Ryland will close out the year this weekend as Arizona's kicker. He's bounced back from a tough rookie season with the Pats to go 26-for-30 on field goals and 21-for-22 on extra points in his 12 games with the Cardinals.

According to the team, Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner (knee) was placed on Injured Reserve, which will keep him sidelined for the remainder of the 2024 season. In a corresponding move, Michael Carter was promoted to the active roster. Conner suffered a knee injury during their Week 16 loss to the Carolina Panthers and was listed as questionable leading up to their Week 17 tilt against the Rams. Conner was able to suit up in this contest but exited the game after just 12 offensive snaps. Conner ran the ball just four times for four yards and brought in two receptions for four yards. Rookie Trey Benson (ankle) is also on IR, which will leave DeeJay Dallas and now Carter as the lone backs for their final game. Carter saw the most work when Conner exited both games, which suggests he will be the lead option on Sunday afternoon.

Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner (knee) has been ruled out for the Week 18 regular-season finale on Sunday against the division-rival San Francisco 49ers, according to head coach Jonathan Gannon. Conner injured his knee in the Week 17 loss to the division-rival Los Angeles Rams last Saturday and never returned, and the 29-year-old's 2024 season will come to an end a week early. With rookie Trey Benson (ankle) going on Injured Reserve on Tuesday, the Cardinals backfield will now consist of some sort of timeshare between DeeJay Dallas and Michael Carter in a meaningless Week 18 contest against San Francisco in which both teams could be sitting some banged-up starters. Despite Arizona not making the playoffs, Conner was the RB10 in half-PPR scoring through 17 weeks in 2024, recording 1,094 rushing yards and eight TDs on 236 carries while adding 47 catches for 414 yards and one TD.

The Arizona Cardinals placed rookie running back Trey Benson (ankle) on Injured Reserve on Tuesday, so he will not be available to play in the Week 18 regular-season finale on Sunday against the division-rival San Francisco 49ers. The third-rounder from Florida State will end up missing the final three games of his rookie season. As James Conner's primary backup in his first year in the NFL, Benson finished with 63 carries for 291 yards (4.6 yards per carry) and a touchdown while catching six passes for 59 yards. Conner was pulled from last week's loss to the division-rival Los Angeles Rams on Saturday night due to a knee injury and could also be rested in a meaningless game this weekend, which would put DeeJay Dallas and Michael Carter in line to split the backfield workload for Arizona. Benson is a solid hold in keeper leagues, although he could be in line for a backup role again in 2025 if Conner stays healthy.

Arizona Cardinals kicker Chad Ryland converted his lone field goal attempt but missed an extra point during Saturday's Week 17 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. The second-year kicker wasn't able to build on last week's dominant showing against the Carolina Panthers. Ryland's missed kick brought him to 21-for-22 on extra points and 26-for-30 on field goals in 2024. He'll look to bounce back as a decent streamer next week, assuming Matt Prater (knee) doesn't return from injured reserve for the Cardinals' season finale.