James Conner will not play again this season, according to an ESPN report, after sustaining a serious ankle injury in the Arizona Cardinals’ 16-15 defeat to the San Francisco 49ers yesterday.
The 30-year-old running back went down after a one-yard run early in the third quarter with the severity of the injury swiftly apparent with players from both teams taking a knee in solidarity with the Cardinals captain before he was carted off the field.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Conner has been ruled out for the season and his right ankle will require surgery.
He means everything – Murray hails stricken Conner
“It’s unfortunate,” said Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray. “Just not only is he my teammate, I feel like that’s a brother of mine. Just to see him go down like that, you never want to see that. I understand it’s part of the game, but it is not ideal. All the work that he puts in and just who he is as a person, you don’t want to see him get hurt like that. Yeah, it’s tough.
“He’s everything, means everything.”
Trey Benson is now expected to step up to become the team’s first-choice running back, not that he was displaying any signs of excitement after the game.
“It’s one of my best friends on the team,” Benson said of Conner. “He was like a big brother to me – my mentor. He taught me a lot of stuff here, so it was tough [to watch].”
Conner, who was coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, is under contract with Arizona until 2026.
