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During their Saturday night matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner— who entered the week dealing with a knee injury from Week 16— exited the matchup after aggravating his knee, per Adam Schefter on X.
From the start, it was an interesting choice for the Cardinals to play Conner, as their playoff hopes are nonexistent and their season is seemingly over.
Along with that, Conner appears to be part of this team's future plans moving forward, at least somewhat.
On Nov. 30, 2024, Conner and the Cardinals agreed to a two-year, $19 million contract extension, signing him to the team until the end of the 2026 season.
Now, with the Cardinals possibly messing up his knee more by playing him in a somewhat meaningless game, Conner's future could be up in the air.
Cardinals RB James Conner having career-reviving season in 2024
Before his bout with a nagging knee injury, Conner entered the week with the most yards he's rushed for in a season (1,090).
As of recently, there's plenty of controversy over signing running backs to contracts once their rookie deal expires, but Conner has shown why it's worth it for some teams.
Before signing with the Cardinals in 2021, Conner had yet to rush for 1,000 yards, while also having a unicorn-like season in 2018 with 12 rushing touchdowns.
After his strong sophomore season in the league, Conner returned to the scene in his first year with the Cardinals, totaling 936 scrimmage yards and 18 touchdowns.
Now, after a 1,000-yard performance in 2022, Conner entered Week 17 with 1,500 scrimmage yards and nine touchdowns.
So, while running backs usually lose their shine by the age of 29, Conner appears to have revived his career in his fourth season with Arizona.
And although the Cardinals might've misused him in their Week 17 matchup against the Rams, that doesn't take away from his monster 2024 season.
