Cardinals RB Chase Edmonds (ankle) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Panthers. He’ll likely miss multiple weeks with his high-ankle sprain. James Conner should get a heavy workload this weekend, making him a borderline RB1. Eno Benjamin will be Arizona’s #2 RB.
The Cardinals believe RB Chase Edmonds suffered a high-ankle sprain in Sunday's win over the 49ers, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Edmonds is scheduled for an MRI on Monday. As Rapoport notes, high-ankle sprains generally keep players sidelined for 4-6 weeks. We'll look for further updates on Edmonds, but James Conner could flirt with RB1 production for however long Edmonds is out. Eno Benjamin will be Arizona's #2 RB.
Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury tested positive for COVID and will miss Sunday's game vs. the Browns. QB coach Cam Turner is also out after testing positive. Kingsbury is an offensive-minded coach and Arizona's play caller, so it's notable news for QB Kyler Murray and the rest of this offense. We're not adjusting our projections for the Cardinals offense, but the situation adds downside risk.
Cardinals RB Chase Edmonds (shoulder) is listed as questionable for this weekend’s game vs. the 49ers. He only got in a limited practice on Friday, and HC Kliff Kingsbury labeled Edmonds a game-time decision. It’s a 4:25 pm ET kickoff, but hopefully we get an update on Edmonds on Sunday morning. He’ll obviously carry elevated risk if he’s active. If not, RB James Conner will be a strong fantasy play.
The Cardinals on Monday activated RB James Conner from the COVID list. He had landed there Aug. 12 as a high-risk close contact. Conner's return after just 4 days says he never tested positive for the virus. That he was deactivated as a close contact, though, also indicates Conner hasn't been vaccinated. So he's good to go for now. We'll see whether this issue pops back up for him at any point.
The Cardinals on Thursday placed RB James Conner on the COVID list as a high-risk close contact. As long as Conner tests negative, he should be back soon with no reason for further concern. We'll keep an eye out for updates on his situation. Jonathan Ward and Eno Benjamin should see extra reps for as long as Conner is out.
Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury confirmed Monday what most of us expected out of his backfield. "We expect both guys to share the load for the most part," the coach told ESPN's Josh Weinfuss, referring, of course, to RBs Chase Edmonds and James Conner. "We'll play to their strengths," Kingsbury added. "James is obviously a bigger back. Chase, when he had [an] opportunity, did some great things, and we want to make sure we're calling plays that both those guys are comfortable with when they're in and kind of tailor to them." Kingsbury added that "they can both do it all," but it's pretty clear that Conner will hold the edge near the goal line and Edmonds in the passing game -- much like with Edmonds and Kenyan Drake last year. Both remain fine values in current drafting: Edmonds as RB27 in FFPC best-ball formats, Conner at RB38.
According to Jess Root of Cards Wire, Cardinals RB James Conner has sat out team drills in recent days with an unspecified injury. Jonathan Ward has reportedly stepped in for Conner's reps with the 1st team. We haven't seen any other report of a Conner injury, so we're not concerned about the situation just yet. But it'll be one to monitor, given Conner's injury history.
ESPN's Josh Weinfuss believes Cardinals RBs Chase Edmonds and James Conner will "split the primary reps to start, with whoever has the hot hand getting the ball." Fantasy drafters are clearly expecting Edmonds to lead this backfield, taking him about 3 rounds ahead of Conner. We'll see if we get more clarity on the situation over the next month, but Conner is probably the better shot at ADP right now.
The Steelers selected Maryland RB Anthony McFarland in the 4th round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Watch McFarland’s 298-yard, 2-TD dismantling of Ohio State back in 2018 and you’d think he’s 1 of the top backs in this class. That was part of an impressive redshirt freshman season that saw him tally 1,034 yards on 7.9 yards per carry. 39 of his 131 carries went for 10+ yards that year. McFarland took a colossal step back this past season, though, battling through a high-ankle sprain and totaling just 614 yards on 114 carries (5.4 YPC). He’s also fairly inexperienced in the passing game, with only 24 catches across the past 2 years. But McFarland’s flashes are exciting. And the 5’8, 208-pounder confirmed his big-play ability with a 4.44-second 40 time at the Combine. He’s an intriguing addition to Pittsburgh’s backfield alongside James Conner, Benny Snell and Jaylen Samuels.
Steelers RB James Conner (knee) isn't listed on the final Week 3 injury report. He put in full practices on Thursday and Friday, so that knee shouldn't be an issue. Conner draws a stout 49ers run defense this weekend, but he should have volume on his side -- especially with QB Mason Rudolph making his 1st career start.
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