Arizona let Benjamin go earlier this week and he turned out to be a popular target on the waiver wire.
The Seahawks have done well defending Eno Benjamin this season. The former Cardinals running back totaled just 49 yards on 19 carries against Seattle in their two meetings. However, they liked enough of what they saw to put in a claim for him.
Arizona let Benjamin go earlier this week and he turned out to be a popular target on the waiver wire. The Texans were awarded Benjamin but according to Field Yates at ESPN three teams put in claims: the Seahawks, Chiefs and Saints.
New Texans RB Eno Benjamin was sought after on waivers, the Chiefs, Saints and Seahawks also put a claim in on him, per source.
The Broncos also put in a claim on DB Justin Layne, who went to the Bears with higher priority.
Houston has the worst record (1-7-1) in the league but Benjamin should be in line for RB2 reps behind standout rookie Dameon Pierce. In Seattle, Benjamin’s spot on the depth chart would have been much less clear.
Ken Walker is now the clear No. 1 option in the run game and he started getting work as a receiver against the Buccaneers, as well. Walker looked sharp doing it, posting 55 yards on six catches. Going forward, it’s tough to imagine Travis Homer, DeeJay Dallas or anybody else getting many offensive snaps unless Walker gets injured.
The Saints were among four teams to try and claim former Cardinals RB Eno Benjamin off of waivers, but he went to the team with highest priority: the Texans
Well that’s disappointing. The Arizona Cardinals made an odd move this week in letting go of running back Eno Benjamin, who had been a big player for them this season; and he was popular on the waiver wire, with ESPN’s Field Yates reporting that four teams submitted claims to add him, including the New Orleans Saints. With the Saints slotted in at No. 4 on waiver wire priority, they had a good chance of getting him.
But the top-ranked Houston Texans submitted a claim too, and that’s where Benjamin wound up. Yates adds that the Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs also tried to snag Benjamin off of waivers, but they wouldn’t have had a chance even if the Texans didn’t get involved. Both teams are behind the Saints in waiver priority.
Benjamin would have been a nice addition. The second-year pro has averaged 4.0 yards per carry in the NFL while catching 30 receptions in 19 games, and he’s under contract through 2023. For a team like the Saints that expects to be without its top running back at some point (a suspension is looming for Alvin Kamara after his alleged involvement in a Las Vegas brawl early this year), that matters.
So where do the Saints go from here? New Orleans is also managing an injury to backup Mark Ingram II, and they made the oddly-timed decision to cut both of their practice squad running backs on Tuesday. Their depth chart is in flux, and it remains to be seen how it will stabilize ahead of their Week 11 game with the Los Angeles Rams. Hopefully Ingram can return to back up Kamara along with special teams ace Dwayne Washington, but this feels like a bigger question that won’t be truly answered until the offseason.
Yiadom was signed as a free agent by the #Texans in March, but saw his tenure in Houston come to an abrupt end on Tuesday
In order to clear roster space for newly claimed running back Eno Benjamin’s spot on the Houston Texans’ 53-man roster, the team parted ways with defensive back Isaac Yiadom on Tuesday. The move comes after a flurry of activity following the Texans’ loss to the New York Giants in Week 10 and is a sign that general manager Nick Caserio isn’t yet satisfied with his team’s roster construction after a 1-7-1 start.
Yiadom was signed by Houston in the offseason back in March and seemed to be positioned to compete for substantial playing time before the Texans targeted defensive backs in the 2022 draft. He had been activated for just three games at the time of his release and was involved in just a handful of snaps on defense, though he had shown some promise on special teams.
A journeyman to this point in his career, Yiadom was initially drafted by the Denver Broncos in the third round as part of the 2018 draft class and was once considered a valuable cornerback prospect. His time in Denver ended in 2019, and he was picked up by the New York Giants in 2020 before eventually finding his way to a contract with the Green Bay Packers last season. He played collegiately at Boston College and was a standout at the Senior Bowl ahead of his entry into the NFL ranks.
He should be considered a premium practice squad prospect at this point in his career, and with some attention from coaches in the right system, could develop into the kind of playmaker many thought he could be when he was drafted.
Though this release could be the end of the road for Yiadom’s time in Houston, expect other cornerback-needy teams to court him in the coming weeks as they look to add a low-risk high-reward prospect that might be able to give them competent reps down the stretch in the 2022 season.
Benjamin, after his surprise release on Monday, was claimed by the team with No. 1 priority on waiver claims. He will be a backup there, too.
Former Arizona Cardinals running back Eno Benjamin was not out of a job for long. After the team surprisingly released him on Monday, he is headed to the Houston Texans, who claimed him off waivers on Tuesday.
The Texans, at 1-7-1, have No. 1 priority in the waiver wire order.
Benjamin had 299 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 4.3 yards per attempt this season.
His release came after reported vocal displeasure with his playing time recently. He had started three games in place of an injured James Conner but then only had 17 offensive snaps in Week 9 and only one in Week 10.
With the Texans, he will not be the lead back either, as rookie Dameon Pierce is having a fine first season in the NFL, having rushed for 772 yards and three touchdowns in nine games.
The #Texans made a series of transactions with their practice squad on Tuesday that could have implications in the future
The Houston Texans parted ways with an up-and-coming player on their practice squad on Tuesday afternoon, releasing rookie receiver Michael Young. The move comes after the team claimed running back Eno Benjamin off waivers earlier in the day.
In addition to Benjamin, who will be placed on the team’s 53-man roster following the team’s decision to claim him, Houston signed two players to their practice squad, receiver Alex Bachman and defensive back Will Redmond.
Bachman played his college ball at Wake Forest and is in his second season as a professional after entering the league as an undrafted free agent. He spent time with the Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants in recent seasons before eventually finding his way to Houston on Tuesday.
Redmond, on the other hand, was once a highly touted prospect in the 2016 draft and came into the NFL as a third-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers by way of Mississippi State. Following his release from the 49ers in 2017, he bounced around from the Kansas City Chiefs to the Green Bay Packers before eventually settling at his last stop with the Indianapolis Colts.
As practice squad prospects, both players will need to fight for their chance to get elevated to the Texans’ active roster and see meaningful time on the field this season. For now, the limited action they’ll see in helping Houston prepare for their opponents will serve as an extended tryout of sorts to give Lovie Smith and his crew of coaches a chance to evaluate what they might bring to their football team.
No opportunity should be taken lightly for Bachman or Redmond, though, as the winds of change are in the air in Houston as a rebuild in 2023 may provide them the necessary occasion to become role players in what promises to be a new-look Texans squad. If they can make the right impression through the end of the season, both players could find themselves with steady work ahead of next year’s opening kickoff.
Benjamin was waived by the #Cardinals this week and was claimed by the #Texans on Tuesday
The Houston Texans claimed talented running back Eno Benjamin off waivers by way of the Arizona Cardinals on Tuesday, adding even more depth to their burgeoning backfield led by rookie star Dameon Pierce. Their running game has been a major strength for the team so far in 2022 and can be considered one of the best in the NFL with Pierce ranking among the top 10 in rushing yards through nine games.
Benjamin will be hard-pressed to find a significant workload with the Texans, but too much depth is never an issue for any team at the midway point in the season. He has found success in limited action since entering the league as a seventh-round pick in the 2020 draft.
Though he hasn’t lived up to the hype that built around him following a storied career at Arizona State, he has shown the same burst at the pro level that made him a star for the Sun Devils in college. Standing just five-foot-nine inches tall, Benjamin is an elusive back with the ability to find even the smallest holes made by an offensive line and though he might not be a track star, has enough speed to fight for the edge on every play.
He comes into a tumultuous situation in Houston where the 1-7-1 Texans are grasping at straws to jumpstart their floundering offense. Benjamin is unlikely to be activated against the Washington Commanders unless he shows signs of brilliance in practice this week that would warrant his inclusion in the gameday roster ahead of Rex Burkhead and Dare Ogunbowale on the depth chart.
Though this move is hardly a blockbuster acquisition that would help the Texans compete in a meaningful way in the short term, Benjamin’s addition is a clear sign that Houston is leaning into their tendency to favor the run amid mounting speculation of a potential quarterback change in the coming weeks.
Benjamin apparently was too vocal about wanting more playing time than he was getting, especially after a Cardinals win.
The Arizona Cardinals announced a roster move Monday that took most by surprise. They released running back Eno Benjamin, who was the star of the offseason and had been the starting running back for three games while James Conner was hurt.
This, of course, led to questions as to what happened. Was it football-related, which seems odd considering his production this season, or was it something off the field?
It apparently was somewhat related to football.
According to Compare.bet’s Kyle Odegard, who used to be a reporter for the Cardinals’ official team site, “the decision was made because of Benjamin’s vocal displeasure with a diminishing role in the offense.” AZCentral Sports’ Kent Somer also reported this.
The release was a surprise for Benjamin, too.
Benjamin has been a fan favorite, considering he played collegiately at Arizona State. Another former Arizona State player, Jaelen Strong, who played three seasons in the NFL, tweeted he found out the reason for the release and indicated that, while petty, the team was not wrong for the move.
Is there some double standard going on in the locker room?
That depends.
Players often are unhappy about the role they play, especially when they have a limited role. How they handle it matters. It would appear that Benjamin let his unhappiness interfere with things on the field or in practice and was too vocal around coaches and teammates.
Had he had conversations with coach Kliff Kingsbury behind closed doors an continued to work while disappointed, this likely doesn’t happen.
Benjamin played only one snap in the Cardinals’ 27-17 win over the Los Angeles Rams. The message for the team over the last few weeks as they have struggled to get where they want to be has been that of staying together.
Griping about playing time when the team is winning is considered a no-no. If he was too vocal about it right after the Cardinals won, that would be too much.
That combined with a running back room that includes a young, promising Keaontay Ingram, the team probably felt a need to make sure the message of “team is more important than player” was enforced.
After all, Benjamin is a third-year backup running back. If receiver A.J. Green, a 12-year veteran who was one of the very best in the league at one point, can accept a reduced role with professionalism, Benjamin should as well, especially since his role can suddenly increase at a moment’s notice.
Kingsbury raved about the strides Benjamin made in maturity and professionalism over his first three years in the league. He apparently took a step back or did not make quite enough progress to stay with the team for the rest of the season.
Eno Benjamin was surprisingly released by the Cardinals and the Rams should consider putting in a claim for him.
The Arizona Cardinals defeated the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday and less than 24 hours later, they made a surprising roster move that should pique the interest of the Rams. With the Cardinals leaning on James Conner in the run game, they released Eno Benjamin on Monday, meaning teams will have an opportunity to claim him off waivers before he’s an unrestricted free agent.
The Rams have been desperately seeking a spark in the run game this season. Los Angeles has deployed a multitude of combinations at running back to no avail, which includes the likes of Darrell Henderson Jr., Cam Akers, Malcolm Brown, Ronnie Rivers, and Kyren Williams.
While the injuries along the offensive line certainly haven’t helped the ground game, the Rams are averaging a league-worst 68.1 rushing yards per game. And if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t exist, Los Angeles would be posting the fewest yards per attempt (3.2) in the NFL right now.
Following Sunday’s devastating loss to the Cardinals, the Rams own the eighth-worst record in the NFL, so they would have the eighth-best spot in waivers. Claiming Benjamin could be a step in the right direction as he would immediately become the No. 1 option in the backfield for the Rams.
Benjamin made three starts in relief of Conner this season, totaling 151 rushing yards and a touchdown on 36 attempts. The former seventh-round pick also caught 11 of his 15 targets for 72 yards in those three starts.
By claiming Benjamin, the Rams would take on the rest of his contract, which happens to still be his rookie contract. Benjamin’s rookie contract went through the 2023 season, so if someone were to sign him off of waivers, he’d be under contract next season.
This is an important factor for the Rams placing a claim for Benjamin as they could elect to move on from Akers this offseason and Henderson is a free agent. Considering that the reigning Super Bowl champions want to finish this season strong and produce some positives for next season, it would be wise for the Rams (assuming Benjamin wasn’t released for something serious) to consider trying to claim Benjamin off of waivers following his release from the Cardinals.
Just two games removed from having been the starting running back in place of James Conner, Benjamin now is out of a job.
The Arizona Cardinals announced a roster move that will come as a surprise. They have released running back Eno Benjamin.
Benjamin had been the team’s primary back to James Conner and even started three games while Conner was injured.
His 113 total yards from scrimmage (12 rushes for 92 yards and a touchdown, four catches for 21 yards) were key in the Cardinals’ 42-34 win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 7.
He has 299 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 4.3 yards per attempt, which ios the highest average among the team’s running backs.
It is not known whether the move is football-motivated or if there is something off the field that has come into play.
Benjamin is a popular player, as he played collegiately for Arizona State. He was selected in the seventh round of the 2020 draft and has gradually increased his role each season.
Entering this season, he was one of the most impressive players in the offseason. Coach Kliff Kingsbury raved about his work ethic and approach, saying he looked like he could be a starting running back.
We will surely find out if this is something beyond a football decision and whether another team claims him by tomorrow afternoon.
He could be re-signed to the practice squad if he clears waivers, should the Cardinals want to keep him on the team.
Check out these sleepers to play in fantasy football for Week 9.
Officially entering the second half of the fantasy football season, there will be a massive rush to find sleepers in Week 9.
Managers are entering the first part of the bye-pocalypse with a grand total of six teams on a bye in Week 9. The second part of that bye-pocalypse arrives during Week 14.
Teams on a bye in Week 9 include the Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, New York Giants, PittsburghSteelers, DallasCowboys, and San Francisco 49ers.
Whether you’re looking to continue your winning ways or stay in the playoff hunt, hitting on the right sleepers can make all the difference.
