The Cardinals finally have their full draft class under contract.
Third-round running back Trey Benson signed his four-year rookie deal Thursday, days before the team will report to training camp.
The rest of the class signed prior to the end of the Cardinals’ offseason work; once that window closed there was an inevitable delay as the front office took their annual time off. A handful of signings started up again in this week as teams got closer to camp. Benson’s signing comes after the Jets signed wide receiver Malachi Corley, who had been the pick before Benson in the third round.
“I haven’t been anxious,” Benson said. “I knew it was going to happen at one point. I just kept my head down and continued to work.”
The Cardinals report to training camp on Tuesday.
At Florida State, Benson had back-to-back 900-plus yard seasons on the ground and earned All-ACC honors in 2022 and 2023. The current state of running back coach Autry Denson’s room is in a good position. James Conner is coming off of a career high season and Michael Carter, through his speed and shiftiness, proved to be a productive and valuable piece to the offense. DeeJay Dallas as a free agency acquisition, although likely in more of a special teams capacity, and Emari Demercado heads into his second season.
Yet the Cardinals used their first of four third-round selections on Benson for a reason.
“(Trey) has got a good combination of size and speed, and he works hard,” Carter said. “When you mesh them together, it creates a good player. Now it’s about learning the ropes of being elite which we’re going to help him with.”
Despite being unsigned, Benson still worked with the team all offseason, took part in all the rookie community events, and recently was part of the group that spent time with QB Kyler Murray in pre-camp workouts.
“He’s just like a sponge and he just wants to learn everything,” Conner said. “He’s got a great work ethic. He’s a good addition to the room. He’s going to help us a ton this year.”
Benson is equally optimistic.
“We all have a lot of different traits,” Benson said. “Us all combined, it’s one big monster.”
