James Conner injury update: Adam Schefter gives awful news on Cardinals RB

Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner suffered a scary injury on Sunday in a game against the San Francisco 49ers. He was carted off as teammates surrounded him.

On Sunday evening, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter provided a further update on his status. It’s not great news for the Cardinals.

“Cardinals RB James Conner did in fact suffer a season-ending injury to his right ankle that will require surgery, per source,” Schefter wrote on Twitter. “The injury is considered ‘severe,’ even if the team does not yet know the full extent of the damage.”

James Conner was carted off the field after suffering an injury during a brutal tackle in the game against the San Francisco 49ers. The injury occurred early in the third quarter, and the entire Cardinals roster surrounded Conner before he left the field.

The Cardinals later announced that James Conner suffered an ankle injury and was ruled out. Before the injury, Conner rushed for 22 yards on nine carries and caught three passes for 15 yards.

Conner is in his fifth season with the Cardinals after spending four years with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Entering Sunday’s game, the 30-year-old has rushed for 73 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries while catching five passes for 23 yards.

In 2024, Conner had one of the best seasons in his career. In 16 regular-season games, the Pittsburgh Panthers alum notched 1,094 rushing yards and eight touchdowns while also catching 47 passes for 414 yards and one score. It was the second consecutive year Conner reached the 1,000-yard rushing mark after posting 1,040 yards in 2023.

James Conner talks about expectations for 2025 season

Before the start of the 2025 season, Conner, who is one of the Cardinals’ team captains, talked about his expectations for this year. “I’m excited. I really am,” the running back said, per the Cardinals’ official website. “We know what we want to do this year and who we want to be. We’ve got a great opportunity in front of us with the Saints, so we’ve got to come ready. It’ll be a tough one, but we look forward to the challenge and accepting all challenges.”

Conner also talked about being consistent on offense. “Whatever you want your team to be, the identity, scheme, whatever type of offense we run, we’ve just got to execute,” he added. “Of course you want to be clean and crisp and focus on what you do and do it at a high level.”

The Cardinals have won their first two games of the year and are looking to reach the playoffs for the first time since the 2021 season. Last year, Arizona tallied an 8-9 record after losing five of its last seven games.

On3’s Brian Jones also contributed to this report.