Emari Demercado Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Cardinals RB Emari Demercado (ankle) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Packers. That should mean some extra passing-down snaps for RB Michael Carter, who sits slightly ahead of RB Bam Knight in our Week 7 PPR rankings.

In a surprising move, Jonathan Gannon announced before Arizona's Week 6 game in Indianapolis that Zonovan Knight, who was listed as third on the depth chart and was just activated from the practice squad in Week 5, would draw the backfield start for the Cardinals. The move paid off, as Knight led the team in rushing and scored a 1-yard TD in the first quarter in Arizona's 31-27 loss.

Cardinals RB Emari Demercado is questionable to return to Sunday's game vs. the Colts with an ankle injury. His absence leaves the backfield to Michael Carter and Bam Knight. We'll update Demercado's status when we know more.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Cardinals RB Zonovan "Bam" Knight will play a "more prominent role" ahead of Michael Carter today against the Colts.

Michael Carter led the Cardinals backfield Sunday in the first game since RB Trey Benson went down with a knee injury. Carter handled 18 of the 25 RB rushes in the Week 5 loss to the Titans. He also drew five of the team's six RB targets, tying Marvin Harrison Jr. for second on the team in that category. Carter caught all five of those to match TE Trey McBride for the team reception lead. But his yardage efficiency in both phases failed to impress.

Emari Demercado generated the most rushing yards Sunday in a Cardinals backfield spreading the work around after losing both James Conner and Trey Benson to knee injuries. But Demercado overshadowed the work split and his performance and effectively lost his team the game by voluntarily dropping the ball before he crossed the goal line on what should have been a long fourth-quarter TD run.

The Cardinals "plan to ride the hot hand" in the backfield vs. the Titans on Sunday, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "That includes Michael Carter and Bam Knight on base downs and Emari Demercado on third downs," Fowler adds. We still expect Carter to get the first shot at developing that hot hand -- and he remains the best fantasy bet in this backfield. But he clearly carries a wide range of outcomes. Demercado seems unlikely to get big rushing volume but could dominate passing-down work. Knight could be worth stashing in super deep fantasy leagues while we wait to see what this backfield looks like, but he shouldn't be in Week 5 fantasy lineups.

The Cardinals have announced that RB Trey Benson will hit IR for the knee injury he suffered late in Week 4. That announcement comes just after we learned the RB's Week 5 status was "in question" and knocks him out for at least four games.

Update: Benson underwent arthroscopic surgery on his meniscus and is expected to be out for four to six weeks, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Arizona has a Week 8 bye, so it's still possible that Benson only misses four games.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Cardinals RB Trey Benson is "in question" for Sunday's game vs. the Titans due to a knee injury suffered in Week 4. "Near the end of last Thursday’s game vs. the Seahawks, Benson banged his knee. It is not thought to be serious, but his status for Sunday now is in question," Schefter said. Benson did not participate in Monday's practice. We'll keep you updated on his status over the next few days. His absence would leave Arizona's backfield to RBs Emari Demercado and Michael Carter. Demercado would handle most of the passing-down snaps, but Carter would likely play plenty on early downs.

Cardinals RB Trey Benson did not participate in Monday's practice. There was no report of an injury before or after Thursday night's loss to the Rams, but HC Jonathan Gannon said Monday that they're taking it "day by day" with Benson. We'll look for more info on his status and get Arizona's first official practice report of the week on Wednesday. Benson's absence would leave RBs Michael Carter and Emari Demercado likely forming a committee. Neither would be an exciting fantasy play.

Cardinals RB Trey Benson carried eight times for 35 yards and caught five balls for 19 more in Thursday night's game vs. the Seahawks, the first this season without RB James Conner. Arizona went pass-heavy in this one, finishing the game with 41 pass attempts vs. just 12 non-QB runs. Benson looked good when he got the rock, averaging 4.4 yards per carry against a stout run defense. And he drew five targets for a nice 12.2% share. But he lost the majority of obvious passing-down snaps to RB Emari Demercado. Per Pro Football Focus, Demercado out-snapped Benson seven to one on third downs. Demercado also played 16 of the 17 snaps in the two-minute offense, with RB Michael Carter getting the other.

The Cardinals believe RB James Conner's right ankle injury is season-ending, although that prognosis isn't yet official, according to ESPN's Josh Weinfuss. It certainly looked like a season-ender when Conner had to be carted off the field in the loss to the 49ers. We should get final confirmation on Monday.

Update: ESPN's Adam Schefter now confirms that Conner will need season-ending surgery. "The injury is considered 'severe,' even if the team does not yet know the full extent of the damage," Schefter adds.

Cardinals RB James Conner tallied 16 carries for 110 yards and 2 TDs in Sunday's win over New England. He caught all five targets for 28 yards.

Cardinals RB James Conner ran 18 times for 107 yards. He also caught all three targets for 12 yards. The downside was that RBs Emari Demercado and Trey Benson scored TDs while Conner was held out of the end zone.

Cardinals RB James Conner got just 9 carries and 1 target in Sunday's loss to the Lions. He turned those limited opportunities into a mere 17 rushing yards and an 8-yard catch.

Cardinals RB James Conner stayed busy in Sunday's close loss to Buffalo. He handled 16 of 19 team RB attempts and 4 of 7 backfield targets.

Cardinals RBs Trey Benson, Michael Carter, and Emari Demercado are battling it out for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart. Demercado has been subbing in for James Conner during first-team work, while Benson and Carter have worked with the second team.

Cardinals RB Emari Demercado (toe) is active for today’s game vs. the Rams. It’ll be his first action since Week 8. RB Michael Carter will also make his Arizona debut today, while RB Keaontay Ingram is a healthy scratch. James Conner should still operate as the Cardinals’ clear lead back.