Who Should I Start? Trey Benson or Riley Nowakowski

Monday, August 3, 5:26 PM

Arizona Cardinals running back Trey Benson (knee) experienced discomfort and flaring in his left knee, head coach Mike LaFleur told Josh Weinfuss of ESPN. LaFleur said Benson was feeling better on Monday, though, which is "good news," and the head coach doesn't expect it to be a multi-week issue. The Cardinals are being cautious with Benson on a daily basis after he required season-ending arthroscopic surgery on the same knee last season. The 24-year-old former third-rounder in 2024 from Florida State only played in four games in 2025 in his sophomore campaign with the Cardinals, and then the organization went out and drafted Jeremiyah Love in the first round and signed Tyler Allgeier in free agency. As things currently stand, Benson is the Cardinals' RB4 in training camp behind Allgeier, Love, and James Conner. The good news is that Benson could end up playing in Thursday's Hall of Fame preseason game against the Carolina Panthers, and he should be ready for the start of the 2026 regular season. However, Benson's value may have dropped more than any fantasy RB since the start of last year due to injuries and added competition in the backfield. Fantasy managers should be ignoring him in redraft leagues in 2026.