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Cardinals players had a lot to say about Conner’s injury, now known to be season-ending.
It’s difficult to put into words what the loss of running back James Conner means to the Arizona Cardinals, but several players talked about the likelihood that he will miss the remainder of the season because of an ankle injury suffered on the team’s second play in the second half.
Conner gained nine yards on the first play of the third quarter, but on a one-yard run on the next play, his right leg was bent badly and caught under a 49ers defender. He had to be carted off.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the injury to Conner’s ankle is “severe” and that he will undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the season.
Prior to Schefter’s report, the severity had been essentially confirmed by running back Trey Benson, who said, “It was hard. I thought about it the rest of the game and we will do it for James the rest of the season.”
Benson recalled when he was at Florida State in 2023 and quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a serious ankle injury on a running play with the team undefeated late in the season.
“It reminded me when I was back at Florida State,” he said. “My quarterback went down with a leg injury, (we were) 11-0 and the same feeling. You hate to see it, especially when the team leader goes down.”
Quarterback Kyler Murray said little when asked about it after the game.
“JC is everything, means everything,” he said. “I really don’t want to talk about it right now.”
Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. said, “It’s tough. I know how much JC puts into the game. He’s a leader. On offense, to lose him, it definitely hurt us. Sending him nothing but prayers. I know how much I respect him, and just what he does day in and day out, so it’s very unfortunate. That’s the game that we play, knowing those risks, but we hate to see it happen to people like him.”
The Cardinals now have to prepare for Thursday’s game against Seattle after experiencing the loss of Conner, along with the game to the 49ers.
Asked how the team will deal emotionally with the loss of Conner, linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. said, “It’s tough, man. Honestly, to see a leader go down like that, everybody knows how hard he worked in the building early, always the last one to leave. A guy who I’ve been competing against throughout my career and fortunate enough to be a teammate with. I learned a lot from James. A great leader, great role model. Yeah, it’s tough man.
“I feel like the guys were a little sensitive when he did go down because he’s the heart and soul of our team. We just tried our best to go out there and fight for him and tried to get a W for him. But we fell short. Luckily, we have a game Thursday, so we bounce back, get back to it.”
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