Cardinals Star Lands on Injured Reserve

James Conner's season is over.

Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner (6) smiles as he comes out the huddle during their game against the New England Patriots at State Farm Stadium on Dec 15, 2024. / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals have placed running back James Conner on injured reserve, ending his season as Week 18 arrives.

Michael Carter was also elevated to the active roster as a result.

Conner first suffered the knee injury in Week 16 against the Carolina Panthers, where he was tackled awkwardly in the second half of action and didn't return. In the following week of practice, he was limited in all three days ahead of Week 17 before playing against the Los Angeles Rams.

Conner only played a handful of snaps before re-injuring the knee in Los Angeles. Earlier today, the Cardinals ruled Conner out for Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.

With backup Trey Benson also on injured reserve, Arizona will rely on the running talents of Michael Carter and DeeJay Dallas for the final week.

Carter could be in line for a larger role against the 49ers, according to head coach Jonathan Gannon:

“They’ll all have their roles defined as we get going through the week, but he’ll get a bunch of carries, I’m sure.”

Gannon also said the following on building momentum moving into next season:

“I think that I'd like to win the game. That's going to be your greatest confidence builder is winning games, but yeah, there's no doubt you want to end the year playing good football. I know whether you're in it or not, everybody's trying to do that.

"Then it just gives you another opportunity on Sunday to see what's good, what's not and how we can execute better. It's a learning experience, but there's no doubt we want to play well for our fans, play well for us, and win a game”