Who Should I Start? Trey Benson or Woody Marks

Wednesday, December 10, 12:00 PM

Arizona Cardinals running back Trey Benson (knee) will not be activated off Injured Reserve for the team's Week 15 matchup against the Houston Texans, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Since Benson will not return within his 21-day activation window, he will revert to season-ending IR and will not be eligible to return in 2025. Benson suffered a knee injury in Week 4 that was serious enough to land him on IR, but was not thought at the time to be season-ending. It's unclear whether the 23-year-old suffered a setback once his activation window was opened, or if the 3-10 Cardinals are simply choosing to be cautious with their potential running back of the future. Either way, Benson should now be completely off the radar of redraft fantasy managers for the remainder of 2025. His absence ups the value of Cardinals running backs Bam Knight and Michael Carter, who should continue to see the majority of the team's backfield snaps. Emari Demercado (ankle) could play a role in Arizona as well once he returns from the ankle injury that has sidelined him since Week 11.

Friday, December 12, 9:57 PM

Houston Texans running back Woody Marks (knee) missed some practice earlier this week but does not have an injury designation and is ready to go for the Texans' Week 15 matchup against Arizona. The Cardinals have allowed 18 running back touchdowns in 13 games, including eight in the last four weeks. Marks could get more of the workload with Nick Chubb (ribs, questionable) banged up. Marks checks in as the No. 17 RB in RotoBaller's Week 15 rankings, so he's a strong RB2 play this week after setting a new career-high with 26 carries last week. He scored his fifth touchdown of the season in the Texans' win over the Chiefs, and he has a much better matchup this week, giving him a good ceiling, especially if he gets all the work in this favorable matchup. He crushed the Titans as the focal point of the offense in a similar scenario earlier this season, and he's a strong start in Week 15.