Trey Benson

Career StatsC

Year	Team	GP	Yards	TD	YPC
Career		17	451	1	4.9
2025		4	160	0	5.5
2024		13	291	1	4.6

Updated Jun 12, 2026

Current Contract

Contract Value Index (CVI)

Net of age, position, and term, Trey Benson's deal earns a C Contract Value Index. A $1.5M AAV rookie scale contract for a second-year running back is inherently low-risk from a cap perspective, but the C grade reflects the collision between modest salary and collapsing asset value — Benson has produced just 64 receiving yards across 4 games in the 2025 season before a season-ending knee injury derailed his sophomore campaign, leaving him with no statistical foundation to justify even a discounted role. The running back market rewards durability and volume, neither of which Benson has demonstrated; at 23 years old on a four-year rookie deal, he remains inexpensive, but that financial cushion only matters if there's a viable player to develop underneath it. The real CVI drag here is organizational momentum: the Cardinals' immediate pivot to drafting another back signals they are not banking on Benson as a core piece, and the recent transactional noise—roster moves across linebacker, safety, and offensive line positions—indicates the team is in active evaluation mode rather than protecting their depth chart. Media consensus has been brutal and unanimous, framing this as a running back problem in Arizona rather than a temporary injury setback for a young talent, and the trade speculation that followed the competing draft pick has further cemented the sense that Benson's tenure as a Cardinal is likely numbered. For a player with zero Pro Bowl appearances, zero All-Pro recognition, and minimal career receiving volume, the goodwill buffer to absorb injury plus organizational doubt simply does not exist; the contract itself is not a millstone, but the player attached to it is now viewed as a cautionary tale rather than a legitimate developmental asset heading into 2026.

Contracts in the Same Value Band

Other same-position deals the Contract Value Index also places in the C band — a quick read on where Trey's contract sits relative to comparable money.

Performance Analysis

Per-game impact for Trey Benson pencils out to a C performance grade. The 23-year-old second-year back remains a below-average contributor at the running back position, hamstrung by a season-ending knee injury that limited him to just four games in 2025, during which he compiled 64 receiving yards—a figure that underscores how little offensive involvement or production he managed to generate before going down. His receiving work, modest as it is, represents his strongest output avenue, yet 19 career receptions across two seasons is the kind of shallow resume that leaves no margin for error when injury and organizational doubt converge. The durability concern is now acute: Benson's 2025 campaign was derailed prematurely, and there is no statistical foundation—no rushing yards, no touchdown production, no special teams impact detailed in the data—to suggest he has established himself as an indispensable part of Arizona's offensive equation. What makes the performance assessment particularly damaging is the timing and context: a second-year player already graded as below-average has now lost his season to injury at the exact moment the Cardinals signaled their lack of faith by drafting a replacement at the position, effectively closing any window for Benson to reverse the narrative through on-field performance. Barring a dramatic shift in organizational messaging or a trade to a fresh opportunity, Benson enters 2026 as a roster-bubble back facing genuine uncertainty about his future role and development trajectory.

How Trey Compares at the Position

Trey Benson ranks 90th of 175 graded running backs by performance. That slots Trey between Tyjae Spears (C) just ahead and Brittain Brown (C) just behind.

Current Sentiment

Trey Benson's public perception has collapsed to the floor entering the 2026 offseason, and the narrative surrounding the second-year Cardinal is about as bleak as it gets for a 23-year-old still on a rookie scale contract. The driving force behind the F-grade sentiment is a brutal convergence of events: a season-ending knee injury that cut his 2025 campaign to just four games and 64 receiving yards, immediately followed by Arizona drafting Jeremiyah Love — a move that media has almost universally interpreted as the organization signaling it is done waiting on Benson as a featured back. That on-field production grade of D only amplifies the problem, because Benson has no statistical calling card or accolade to push back against the wave of skepticism — his 19 career receptions and a modest $1.5M AAV give him essentially zero leverage in reshaping the conversation. The headlines have been relentless and pointed, openly framing the situation as a "running back problem" in Arizona rather than a temporary injury setback for a rising talent, and the trade speculation that erupted immediately after the Love pick has further cemented the sense that Benson's time as a Cardinal is likely numbered. The Cardinals' recent draft-weekend activity tells you where the organizational energy is flowing — they were busy adding bodies across multiple positions, none of which indicates any urgency to protect or reinforce Benson's standing on the depth chart. Right now, Benson sits at the most precarious juncture of his young career, viewed by fans and analysts alike as a cautionary tale about developmental backs caught in organizational transitions rather than a legitimate asset worth monitoring heading into the 2026 regular season.