The Arizona Cardinals faced some difficult decisions at running back ahead of final roster cuts, and when the dust settled, top experienced veteran found himself as the odd man out.
Arizona certainly has starter James Conner on the roster. Behind him are rookie running back Trey Benson, free agency addition DeeJay Dallas, and returning backup Emari Demercado.
Carter, who has a $3 million cap cost this season, is regarded as one of the greatest pure runners in the group, but he fell short of Arizona’s overall roster construction. Many people were surprised when Carter was released, but he was quickly returned to the team’s practice squad.
Here's the reason Michael Carter was cut: A proven performance escalator pushed his 2024 base salary to $3.37M, which was way too high given his standing as RB3 or RB4.
Cards will try to bring him back at a lower cost.
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) August 28, 2024
Even in a crowded room, head coach Jonathan Gannon believes Carter will eventually play for the Cardinals in their regular-season opener against the Buffalo Bills.
From Arizona Sports’ Tyler Drake on Twitter/X:
“Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon told @BurnsAndGambo that if he was a betting man, he would bet RB Michael Carter ‘ends up suiting up for us and playing on game day for us.'”
Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon told @BurnsAndGambo that if he was a betting man, he would bet RB Michael Carter "ends up suiting up for us and playing on game day for us."
— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) September 3, 2024
Prior to a game, NFL teams may promote two players from the practice squad to the active roster.
Carter was grabbed off waivers by the Cardinals from the New York Jets late last season, and his ability to run the rock was on full show, most notably in Arizona’s victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, where Carter carried for 61 yards on just seven attempts.
Carter scored a touchdown for Arizona during the preseason and has always been regarded highly by Gannon.
“He has a lot of energy and drive to play football.” He enjoys football, and I admire that about him. He is a competitor. He enjoys practicing. You cannot take him out of practice. He wants to take all of the scout team’s and first-team reps. Last season, Gannon claimed Carter wanted to practice.
The Cardinals plan to release their first injury report of the season later today.
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