Arizona Cardinals News

The pads have come on at Arizona Cardinals training camp, and Arizona Sports' Tyler Drake believes that third-year running back Trey Benson could be falling perilously behind in the competition for meaningful work in 2026. The Cardinals bolstered their running back room this offseason through the free agent acquisition of Tyler Allgeier and the drafting of Jeremiyah Love with the third overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, and the moves look to be paying early dividends. Allgeier has almost exclusively been the first back through positional drills, and Drake reports that Love has looked like the real deal in the early days of camp, standing out with his shiftiness and playmaking abilities. Even Bam Knight has surprised with some early highlights, while neither Benson nor veteran James Conner has taken part in full team drills, as they each work through the final stages of recovery from the injuries that ended their respective 2025 campaigns. Conner is a proven leader, and his place on the final roster would appear to be more secure after recently being singled out by offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, but for Benson, every day that he falls behind makes his future with the team that much murkier.

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. has been the team's main receiver on the field in 13-personnel packages in his return to training camp practice on Tuesday, not Michael Wilson, according to Theo Mackie of The Arizona Republic. Harrison didn't finish Sunday's practice due to cramps and was held out on Monday, but the 23-year-old is back on Tuesday and is fine. There has been some noise this offseason that the former fourth overall pick could face competition for the WR1 role in 2026 from Wilson after his breakout 2025 campaign. This report will quiet some of that noise, but Harrison is going to need to stay healthy and perform to earn the trust of new head coach Mike LaFleur as he heads into his third year in the NFL. Harrison has been a first-round bust so far after his first two seasons, catching 103 of 189 targets for 1,493 yards and 12 touchdowns. He had a 41-608-4 line in just 12 games in 2025, creating buy-low opportunities in both redraft and dynasty/keeper formats. Despite disappointing in his first two seasons, Harrison is worth the lowered cost as a WR3/flex with plenty of bounce-back potential.

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. experienced cramping on Monday, but he was scheduled to return to training camp practice on Tuesday, according to head coach Mike LaFleur. Harrison initially dealt with cramping on Sunday and didn't finish out that practice. The Cardinals gave him the day off on Monday as a precaution, but he seems to be good to go now. The 23-year-old former fourth overall pick from Ohio State in 2024 hasn't lived up to his high expectations through his first two NFL seasons, catching 103 total passes for 1,493 yards and 12 touchdowns in 29 games (26 starts). Harrison only suited up for 12 games last year and finished with a 41-608-4 line on 73 targets. There have been reports suggesting that last year's breakout star, Michael Wilson, could challenge Harrison as Arizona's true WR1 in 2026. It's the perfect time to try to buy low on Harrison in dynasty/keeper leagues, and he'll be a low-cost WR3/flex option with bounce-back potential in redraft leagues. Between injury concerns and a new offense in the desert this year, fantasy managers will have their reasons to avoid Harrison.

Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett praised running back James Conner when asked whether the team currently has a starter, but he stopped short of naming an RB1. Hackett said he was excited for Conner to get on the field and show what he can do before praising the entire running back room. Conner is returning from surgery on his right foot after the injury ended his 2025 season in Week 3. The 31-year-old rushed 32 times for 95 yards and one touchdown while adding eight receptions for 38 yards and another score in three games. Arizona revised Conner's contract to keep him for 2026, but the backfield also includes third-overall pick Jeremiyah Love, free-agent addition Tyler Allgeier, and Trey Benson. Love's draft investment creates significant competition for touches, while Conner's experience and consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in 2023 and 2024 keep him firmly involved. Hackett's comments were positive, but they did not establish Conner as the leading candidate for the starting job.

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (undisclosed) was in "some obvious discomfort" after making a catch during the team's training camp practice on Sunday, per Donnie Druin of Sports Illustrated. In a video posted by Druin on X, Harrison Jr. appears to be stretching out his lower back and/or midsection. The fourth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Harrison Jr. has battled both injuries and underperformance to this point in his career. Appendicitis and heel/foot injuries forced the 23-year-old to miss five games in 2025, and he finished the year with 41 catches for 608 yards and four touchdowns on 73 targets. Star Cardinals tight end Trey McBride has established himself as the clear number one option in the team's passing game, and Harrison Jr. may be behind breakout wide receiver Michael Wilson in Arizona's target pecking order. However, Harrison Jr. remains a highly-talented player with clear upside as he enters his first year with new Cardinals head coach and play-caller Mike LaFleur. Entering 2026, redraft managers should view Harrison Jr. as a boom/bust WR3 option.

Arizona Cardinals running back Tyler Allgeier was working with the first-team offense in training camp practice on Sunday, per Theo Mackie of The Arizona Republic. Mackie reports that both Allgeier and 2026 first-round running back Jeremiyah Love were trading off series with the Cardinals' starters, but that Allgeier got the first series. The Cardinals drafted Love with the third overall pick this past April, indicating that the highly-touted prospect is the team's future at the running back position. Still, Allgeier is likely to play a significant role in the Arizona offense after the team signed him to a two-year, $12.25 million contract in free agency. While playing a complementary role alongside star running back Bijan Robinson for the Atlanta Falcons in 2025, Allgeier collected 514 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 143 carries. Entering 2026, RotoBaller ranks Allgeier as the RB50 for redraft leagues.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett has agreed to revised compensation for 2026, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The new terms are worth $15.5 million, with incentives that could push the total to $21 million. The agreement also locks Brissett in as Arizona's starter after months of uncertainty surrounding his contract and the quarterback depth chart. He had already returned to the field and begun practising at training camp before the deal was completed. Brissett started the final 12 games for the Cardinals last season and appeared in 14 overall, completing 64.9% of his passes for a career-high 3,366 yards, 23 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Gardner Minshew II and third-round rookie Carson Beck now sit behind him. The secured starting job keeps Brissett relevant in Superflex and two-quarterback leagues, though his value remains tied more to volume than rushing production.

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. will reportedly have to compete with Michael Wilson for the top spot in the team's receiver room during training camp. Harrison was the fourth overall pick in 2024 and opened his career with 62 catches for 885 yards and eight touchdowns. His second season never built on that start. Injuries limited him to 12 games, and he finished with 41 receptions for 608 yards and four scores. Wilson moved in the other direction, leading Arizona's wide receivers with 78 catches, 1,006 yards, and seven touchdowns. The competition does not mean Harrison has already lost the job, but the gap between draft status and production has put more pressure on his third season. Several NFL evaluators reportedly view 2026 as a make-or-break year for Harrison. His place in the target order alongside Wilson and tight end Trey McBride will be one of Arizona's biggest camp storylines.

After skipping out on the team's voluntary offseason program and holding in during mandatory minicamp amidst an ongoing contract dispute, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett made headlines by reporting to training with the rest of the Cardinals' veterans, but through the first three practices of camp, he has yet to take part in any team drills, according to ESPN's Josh Weinfuss. Brissett has participated in individual drills and stood with the quarterbacks during 11-on-11 sessions, but has yet to take a rep of his own. Currently in the final season of a two-year pact that would pay him a base salary just shy of $4.9 million, negotiations have been reported as productive, but Brissett may potentially refrain from taking part in team drills until a new deal is done. A fantasy revelation after taking over as starter in 2025, Brissett was the QB6 from Weeks 6 through 18, commanding the pass-heaviest offense in the league, but with more balance expected under first-time head coach Mike LaFleur and uncertainty about his starting role on a team that could be looking to the future early into the year, the 33-year-old veteran is RotoBaller's QB29 for 2026.

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Kendrick Bourne had two huge games last season. Almost everything else was empty. He caught 15 passes for 284 yards in Weeks 5 and 6 while San Francisco was missing several of its regular targets, then totaled 22 catches for 267 yards over his other 14 appearances. Arizona still gave him a two-year deal, and his history with Mike LaFleur should help him settle in as the third receiver. That role is better for the Cardinals than it is for fantasy managers. Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson, and Trey McBride already command the attention in this passing game, and the quarterback job remains unsettled. Bourne turns 31 in August, so rebuilders should move him for whatever they can get. Contenders only need to hold in leagues deep enough for an injury-away veteran to matter. He may have a usable week or two if Arizona loses a starter, but the path to steady targets is narrow. There is no long-term value to wait on here.

The Arizona Cardinals spent the third overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on running back Jeremiyah Love, and the team's starting left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. is excited to see what he can do to open up the Cardinals' offense. In an interview with Omar Ruiz following the first practice of training camp, Johnson spoke highly of the running back room as a whole but paid particular attention to the electric rookie, telling Ruiz, "Being able to hand the ball to any of those guys, you know what they can do... Especially with Love. I'm excited to see him in his first year. You know everyone's excited to see what he does in the preseason, including myself." Arizona ran the ball at the league's lowest rate in 2025, but with a revamped running back room that also includes free agent acquisition Tyler Allgeier, first-year head coach Mike LaFleur should bring a more balanced approach into 2026, and Love is RotoBaller's RB13.

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Michael Wilson thinks that new head coach Mike LaFleur's offense will put him in a "position to succeed" after his breakout 2025 campaign, according to PHNX Cardinals. "Look at the history of like the Rams with Puka and Cooper Kupp playing the Z role, the ball's gonna find you a lot," Wilson said. The 26-year-old former third-rounder from Stanford in 2023 surprisingly finished as a top-15 fantasy wideout last year, setting career highs across the board in catches (78), targets (126), receiving yards (1,006), touchdowns (seven), and yards per catch (12.9) in his third year in the NFL. The move from Kyler Murray to veteran Jacoby Brissett at QB opened the floodgates for Wilson, and it also helped that Marvin Harrison Jr. battled through several nagging injuries that caused him to miss time. Brissett is back as Arizona's starter under center, but the passing volume he had last year isn't sustainable in a new offense, and Harrison is now healthy and motivated. Wilson will be a key weapon in the Cardinals' passing game going forward, but fantasy managers shouldn't be buying his 2025 production. RotoBaller is expecting regression, ranking him as the overall WR40 for the upcoming campaign.

Between Arizona Cardinals rookie first-round running back Jeremiyah Love and free-agent pickup Tyler Allgeier, it will be tough to predict how the backfield touches will shake out to begin the 2026 season. Donnie Druin of Sports Illustrated writes that it doesn't feel as though the Cardinals "will fully name one ball-carrier as a labeled starter." The Cardinals' backfield is going to look much different this year in new head coach Mike LaFleur's offense after both James Conner (ankle, foot) and Trey Benson (knee) suffered season-ending injuries early in 2025. Both Conner and Benson are still around, and although they figure to be No. 3 and No. 4 in the pecking order, their presence might be another reason not to go all in on Love, the third overall pick in April, as a true RB1 in 2026 in his first year in the NFL. It's hard to ignore the 21-year-old's production in his final two seasons at Notre Dame, though, as he went over 1,100 yards in both seasons with 35 total rushing touchdowns and five receiving TDs in 28 games. Love is the total package as an explosive runner with soft hands. He should have the upper hand for touches over Allgeier based on his draft capital alone, but Allgeier could continue to vulture TDs, much like he did in Atlanta. RotoBaller has Love ranked as the No. 13 overall fantasy RB for 2026.

Arizona Cardinals edge rusher Josh Sweat (knee) was a surprise addition to the Physically Unable to Perform list to begin training camp on Thursday due to a knee injury, according to ESPN's Josh Weinfuss. The 29-year-old was on the injury report to close out last season with an ankle/knee injury, but he was able to suit up for the season finale against the division-rival Los Angeles Rams, recording a sack to finish out the 2025 campaign with a career-high 12 sacks. He then skipped voluntary organized team workouts and minicamp and didn't practice in mandatory minicamp in June despite attending. Although he's on the PUP to start camp, new head coach Mike LaFleur doesn't seem too concerned and expects Sweat to return at some point this summer. The head coach added that Sweat would have avoided the PUP list if Arizona had reported to camp a week later, like most teams. At the earliest, Sweat could make his camp debut on Tuesday. Sweat appears to be fired up and is ready to try to improve on his career-high 12 sacks from a year ago.

Arizona Cardinals running back Trey Benson (knee), who was held out of the offseason program, participated in drills during the team's training camp practice on Thursday, per Cardinals Wire's Jess Root. It's unclear what exactly Benson did, but coming off a season-ending knee injury in 2025, the Cardinals are expected to ease both Benson and veteran James Conner (ankle, foot) back into workouts this summer. The 24-year-old Benson, a former third-rounder in 2024 from Florida State, was in line for lead-back duties when Conner went down last year, but he only played in four games himself due to a knee injury that required surgery. Now that the Cardinals have added rookie first-rounder Jeremiyah Love and Tyler Allgeier, Benson will open the 2026 regular season as the RB4, at best, pushing him entirely off the redraft fantasy radar. A change of scenery is probably the only way he can get back in good fantasy graces in single-league and dynasty/keeper formats.

Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner (ankle, foot), who was held out of the offseason program, participated in drills in Thursday's training camp practice, according to Jess Root of Cardinals Wire. Conner will most likely be eased back in this summer after he played in only three games due to the injury in 2025, but he has reportedly fully recovered from the injury and shouldn't face any limitations for the start of the regular season this fall. The problem for the 31-year-old veteran back is that the Cardinals have since added rookie first-rounder Jeremiyah Love and Tyler Allgeier to their backfield, so even if he's fully healthy in 2026, he's not going to have near the volume of touches he had before his ankle/foot injury last year. Coming off his serious injury and with lots of competition in the Cardinals' backfield now, Conner's fantasy stock has taken a massive hit. He will go undrafted in most standard-sized leagues and is currently ranked as the No. 77 overall fantasy RB for the 2026 season.

The Arizona Cardinals placed tight end Tip Reiman (ankle) on the Physically Unable to Perform list on Thursday for the start of training camp, according to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. Reiman, a third-rounder in 2024 from the University of Illinois, played in just four games in 2025 in his second year in the league before suffering a season-ending ankle injury in Week 5 against the Tennessee Titans that landed him on Injured Reserve. The 24-year-old still isn't fully recovered from his ankle injury for the start of camp this week, but he can come off the PUP list at any point this summer. It is unclear if Reiman is in danger of missing the start of his third year in the NFL. In his first two years in Arizona, Reiman caught just nine of 12 targets for 55 yards and zero touchdowns in 21 games (12 starts). He's completely off the fantasy radar for 2026.

Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur said that veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett will be present at Thursday's training camp practice, according to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. Brissett stayed away from the entire offseason program while angling for a new contract. The 33-year-old has yet to agree with the team on a new deal, but the fact that he is returning to practice likely means that the two sides have made notable progress on a resolution. The full expectation is that something will get done in camp, with the Cardinals already telling Brissett that he will be their Week 1 starter. He had a career year in 2025 in his 10th year in the league in his first year with the Cardinals, throwing for 3,366 yards, 23 touchdowns, and eight interceptions in 14 games (12 starts) in a pass-happy attack with positive game script every week. Brissett will open the year as the starter, but he could have a short leash in a new offense that should be more balanced under LaFleur. He should only be rostered as a low-end QB2 with limited upside in two-QB superflex formats.

The Arizona Cardinals and rookie third-round quarterback Carson Beck agreed to terms on Wednesday, and he will sign his four-year, $7.4 million deal, sources told Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. Beck is one of the last 2026 NFL draft picks to sign before the start of training camp. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound signal-caller will likely open training camp competing with Kedon Slovis for the QB3 job behind veterans Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew. Beck spent five seasons at the University of Georgia before playing for the University of Miami in 2025, where he led the ACC in completions (338) and completion percentage (72.4%) while throwing for 3,813 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions in 16 games. He should have a shorter development window because of his experience, but he lacks high-end talent, and his ceiling in fantasy might be that of a midrange QB2 because of his lack of rushing ability. Fantasy managers in redraft leagues can ignore Beck, while in dynasty formats, he's merely a low-upside stash in 2026.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett will report for the start of the team's training camp on Wednesday, a source told Ben Volin of The Boston Globe. However, Volin said he wouldn't expect to see Brissett on the field much until his contract situation is resolved. The 33-year-old veteran and former third-rounder by the New England Patriots in 2016 out of North Carolina State is looking for a raise going into his 11th year in the league after becoming Arizona's starting QB in 2025, when he threw for a career-high 3,366 yards, 23 touchdowns, and eight interceptions in 14 games (12 starts) in his first year with the organization. The Cardinals agree that Brissett has earned a new contract, but despite negotiating for the last several months, the two sides have yet to come to an agreement. Expect something to happen sooner rather than later so that the Cardinals can get Brissett back on the field as he tries to learn new head coach Mike LaFleur's offense. Fantasy managers should treat the veteran gunslinger as a low-end QB2 with regression most likely coming his way in what should be a much more balanced offense in 2026 under LaFleur.