The Arizona Cardinals’ practice on Thursday, Oct. 2, offered little in the way of clarity regarding their murky running back situation.
During the portion of practice open to reporters, Michael Carter and Emari Demercado traded off going first in individual drills.
With James Conner (foot) and Trey Benson (knee) both on injured reserve, those two figure to lead the Cardinals’ backfield until Benson is eligible to return in Week 10. That’s an enticing prospect this week, ahead of a favorable matchup against the Tennessee Titans. The order of the two backs, though, is less clear.
In the Cardinals’ first full practice of the week on Wednesday, Oct. 1, Carter took the first snaps in individual drills. He later hinted that he could be the nominal starter.
“It’s been a lot,” Carter said. “You go from Pat Tillman (scout team player of the week award) one week to starting the next.”
The most likely outcome still seems to be that Carter will take most early-down work, with Demercado being used primarily on passing downs.
That has typically been how the Cardinals prefer to deploy Demercado. Over the past two seasons, he has almost exclusively played on third downs and in 2-minute drills, with over 80% of his snaps coming on passing plays — albeit with a healthy Conner and Benson.
Carter, meanwhile, has been with the Cardinals since 2023, bouncing between the practice squad and active roster. Last season, he was their lead back in the final two games — when Conner, Benson and Demercado were all injured.
Carter began this season on the practice squad, with Demercado and Zonovan Knight both making the 53-man roster. That, though, largely came down to skill set. Demercado offers unique skills as a pass catcher and in pass protection, while Knight has been used entirely on special teams. Carter profiles as more of a typical running back, rather than one with a specialized skill set.
“He’s a really well-rounded player,” offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said earlier in the week. “… He’s gotten a lot better in pass protection throughout his career over the last three or four years. … So any time you get a guy who can do all of those things at a pretty high level, it helps us as a team.”
When asked whether Demercado could take on a three-down workload as the lead back — or whether the situation would be more of a mix — neither Petzing nor head coach Jonathan Gannon offered a clear answer.
“I don’t know,” Gannon said. “We’ll see how the week goes. But we obviously know we’ve gotta pick up that role. But feel good about Bam (Knight) and Emari and Mike Carter. I’m sure all three of them will play.”
The Cardinals did play two preseason games this year without Conner or Benson. In preseason Week 2, Carter started as the lead back, with Demercado working in on passing downs. In preseason Week 3 — as the Cardinals assessed who should make the 53-man roster — Demercado got the start, with Carter and Knight rotating in.
The next substantive update on the situation should come on Friday, Oct. 3, as Gannon and running backs coach Autry Denson meet with reporters one final time before game day.