The Arizona Cardinals have some roster decisions to make by the end of the week, and the running back room has an important one. What will the Cardinals do with running back James Conner?
He isn't in any real danger of being cut, as he has $2.1 million of his more than $2.3 million in salary guaranteed. He is coming off a severe ankle injury last season, but he has not participated yet in any 11-on-11 work in practices.
Head coach Mike LaFleur has been adamant that the team will trust Conner in communicating when he will be ready to play, as he knows his body best.
"We're going to lean on him and how he feels," LaFleur reiterated on Wednesday in Green Bay. "Again, that was a gruesome injury, but he's he's progressing well and we'll take it one
day at a time with him."
However, he did admit that the regular season is "starting to creep up," but that he can't project when Conner will be able to practice.
And that leave the Cardinals in a situation where they must decide whether he should occupy a roster spot or whether he needs to go on injured reserve.
If they place him on IR, he must miss the first four weeks of the season, but he could begin practicing as soon as after Week 2.
The Cardinals can actually place up to two players on injured reserve on cutdown date and designate them to return, which would allow them to come back despite bypassing the 53-man roster. For anyone more than that, a player must spend at least a day on the active 53-man roster to be eligible to be designated to return from IR.
With Jeremiyah Love recovering from an ankle sprain, the Cardinals' top two backs are currently Tyler Allgeier and Bam Knight.
Will they have to keep four backs? Will they need more? Can they keep Conner on the active roster if his return isn't imminent?
Those are all questions the Cardinals will have to answer by Sunday afternoon.
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Arizona Cardinals have big decision to make with RB James Conner
