During the Arizona Cardinals’ Week 6 loss to the Green Bay Packers, running back James Conner played very few snaps. Did Conner suffer an injury, and what’s his status for Week 7 against the Los Angeles Chargers?
The Latest on James Conner’s Injury
At the start of the second half, Conner was on the sidelines getting his ankles tapped, running sprints, and trying to get loose.
Emari Demercado handled Arizona’s final offensive drive before halftime, while third-round rookie Trey Benson was the Cardinals’ primary running back on their first third-quarter series.
Fortunately, Conner returned for Arizona’s second offensive drive of the second half. He caught passes on first and second down but fumbled the ball to the Packers on his second reception. After the fumble, Conner played just one more snap.
Conner ultimately played just 16 snaps — fewer than Demercado (31) and barely more than Benson (11). Demercado and Benson received a combined nine carries, while Conner had seven rushes.
The 29-year-old was underwhelming against Green Bay, finishing with seven rushes for 24 yards and four receptions for 22 yards.
On Monday, head coach Jonathan Gannon gave an update on Conner and why his snaps were limited after his return in the second half. Gannon remarked that Conner was doing fine on Monday and his snap count was lower due to game script and not an injury.
Cancer survivor James Conner goes for 1,000 yards and inspires others along the way 💝
— Joanna Cards Fan (@cardsfanjoanna) January 9, 2024
Conner isn’t on the Cardinals’ injury report, so this lines up with what Gannon said. Conner is good to go for Arizona’s Week 7 game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football.
Conner entered Week 6 ranked seventh in the NFL with 379 rushing rushing yards. More than 13% of Conner’s rushes had gone for at least 10 yards, the eighth-best rate in the NFL.
James Conner’s Fantasy Outlook
After Sunday’s loss, Gannon said that Conner’s limited reps in the second half were not the result of a nagging injury but a decision the team made based on the script of the game.
Well, that’s not good.
To be honest with you, I would have rather heard that he was dealing with an injury and the team wanted to save him for a quarter of winnable games on deck as they try to save their season.
The Chargers own the best EPA rush defense in the league, and after a hot start to the season (consecutive top 10s), Conner’s average weekly finish is RB30. I think it’s safe to say that things are trending in the wrong direction for the veteran, but I wouldn’t dismiss him quickly like what we’ve done with Rachaad White.
Conner has produced 11.1% over his expectations this season and has continued to score at a high level in our elusive metric. He remains a top-20 running back for me this season and moving forward, even if it’s closer to RB20 than RB10.
— PFN Fantasy Analyst Kyle Soppe
