Arizona Cardinals' James Conner designated for return from injured reserve
James Conner may not be on the field this week against the Atlanta Falcons, but the Arizona Cardinals running back has been designated for a return from injured reserve.
That announcement came Wednesday morning prior to Cardinals practice. Conner can begin practicing and the team can activate him to the 53-man roster at any time during the next 21 days, or at the conclusion of the three-week period.
He was on the field Wednesday in the portion of practice open to media viewing.
It's another piece of good news this week for the Cardinals, who activated Kyler Murray to the 53-man roster on Tuesday. Conner is still the Cardinals' leading rusher despite missing the past four games and part of a fifth, as he was injured during the team's Week 5 game against Cincinnati.
Head coach Jonathan Gannon didn't say Conner will be able to play this Sunday.
"We'll see how it goes," Gannon said.
It's clear the Cardinals have missed Conner's running ability and toughness, as the running game has been good at times but inconsistent with production since Conner was sidelined.
"That's why he's a very productive, really good player, because of the way he practices and prepares so I think that trickles down to the team, you know, and that's one of the reasons he's a captain, because of his habits on a daily basis," Gannon said of Conner. "He displays winning behavior day in and day out. So yeah, we'll be smarter about how we do things, but we'll see how he responds (Wednesday).
If Conner isn't ready, there's no guarantee rookie Emari Demercado, who missed last week's game with a toe injury, will be able to play either. So the Cardinals could continue to roll with Keaontay Ingram and/or wide receiver Rondale Moore and Tony Jones Jr., who combined for 13 yards on 16 carries against Cleveland.
Injury updates
Gannon's "see how it goes" response this week applied to a couple of other injured starters, offensive linemen D.J. Humphries and Will Hernandez. Both were hurt against Cleveland.
Hernandez was working off to the side of Wednesday's practice, as was Demercado and offensive lineman Trystan Colon. Humphries was not seen in practice. Those four joined linebackers Cameron Thomas (illness), cornerback Marco Wilson (knee) and Zeke Turner (hamstring) as those who did not take part.
Wide receiver Michael Wilson returned to practice after missing all of last week plus Sunday's game, and caught passes from Murray during the session. He and Conner were officially listed as limited in practice.
"A very physical and violent game, and just my shoulder got a little banged up in the Baltimore game. So I just needed a week to kind of recuperate and let it heal," Wilson said. "The healing's coming along a lot faster than I thought."
The Cardinals on Wednesday brought back wide receiver Andre Baccellia and cornerback Quavian White to the practice squad, and also added offensive lineman Austen Pleasants to the practice squad. Pleasants(6-7, 330) originally entered the NFL in 2020 with Jacksonville as an undrafted rookie free agent and has appeared in one NFL game with the Carolina Panthers in 2021.
Beachum an 'ulitmate pro'
Gannon thinks highly of veteran offensive lineman Kelvin Beachum, who filled in at left tackle for Humphries against the Browns and is now in a reserve role for the Cardinals with Paris Johnson Jr. at right tackle, Beachum's former spot.
Gannon said Beachum has played "a good role for us" and that he is a productive player whom the coaches feel good about going in to play.
"He's been excellent. He's an ultimate pro," Gannon said of Beachum, who is in his 12th NFL season and fourth with the Cardinals. "I talk to him a lot, pick his brain a lot. You know, he just has a good viewpoint of what's going on and things like that. So he's been a huge resource for me."
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals captain James Conner set to play again soon
