James Conner Injury: Could play in Week 17

Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said Tuesday that Conner (knee) has a chance to play in Saturday's game against the Rams, Theo Mackie of The Arizona Republic reports.

Even though they were eliminated from the playoffs after Sunday's 36-30 overtime loss to the Panthers, the 7-8 Cardinals aren't looking to shut Conner down due to the knee injury he suffered in Week 16. That said, given that Arizona has little at stake over the final two games of the season, Conner may not be cleared to play Sunday if the knee injury affects his practice participation leading up to the contest. Even if Conner gets the green light to suit up, the Cardinals could also look to lighten his workload in order to preserve his health heading into next season. With Trey Benson (ankle) also working through an injury that kept him sidelined for the loss to Carolina, Michael Carter would be the next man up for work out of the backfield if neither Conner nor Benson are able to play in Los Angeles.