Report: Cardinals expected to be without James Conner and Darrel Williams at Seahawks

The final injury report in addition to players’ game-day status designations doesn’t come out until Friday afternoon, but reportedly it’s not looking good for Cardinals running back James Conner and Darrel Williams.

According to Pro Football Network, citing unnamed sources, both Conner (ribs) and Williams (knee) are expected to miss Sunday’s game at the Seattle Seahawks.

If that ends up being true, the Cardinals will then turn to Eno Benjamin and rookie Keaontay Ingram, who is on the active roster but has been inactive all five games thus far. At least one of the team’s two running backs signed this week to the practice squad, Corey Clement or Ty’Son Williams, likely also would be elevated to the active roster.

Benjamin, the former Arizona State standout, has yet to have double-digit carries in 14 career NFL games. He’s capable of being a bell cow this Sunday, if needed, according to coach Kliff Kingsbury.

“Yeah, he can. He did it in college,” Kingsbury said. “Obviously, he’s at a different level, but he’s worked really hard. If this is his opportunity, we have all the faith in the world that he’ll go out and give us everything he’s got, and I’ve been impressed with what he’s done. Like I’ve said over the last couple years, the improvement and, and the maturity he’s shown has really been impressive.”

Ingram hasn’t played in a game yet, but Kingsbury expects the sixth-round pick out of USC to contribute once he is elevated to the active roster this weekend.

“I mean we kept five for a reason,” he said. “He was very impressive in camp and preseason and has continued to impress us with his preparation and how he’s treated each day – even on scout team. He does a great job, so if he’s got to go, we expect him to play at a high level.”

Running back Jonathan Ward was placed on injured reserve earlier this week after suffering a strained hamstring last Sunday against the Eagles.

Report Card: Arizona Cardinals stayed in game vs. Eagles in spite of setbacks

Roughing penalties stoke debate

In the wake of recent injuries suffered by Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, some NFL coaches and players are worried about a rise in unwarranted roughing-the-passer penalties, such as the questionable calls on the Falcons’ Grady Jarrett and the Chiefs’ Chris Jones on Sunday and Monday.

“I think the league is trying to make a statement,” Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen told The Washington Post this week. “They’re overreacting to what happened to Tua.”

Jarrett was called for roughing against Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady while Jones was flagged for the penalty on the Raiders’ Derek Carr. Neither play looked egregious.

“It’s been interesting,” Kingsbury said. “You know that Brady’s going to get the call, but some of the other ones are — I don’t know. I don’t know how you’re supposed to coach it at this point, but I think we’ve got to reel it in a little bit.”

Kingsbury said he and his staff haven’t addressed the situation with the Cardinals’ defensive players, saying, “You’ve got to tell them to go get the ball and sack them. We haven’t adjusted anything on our end.”

Asked if he thinks the NFL ultimately may move to a two-hand touch rule to further protect quarterbacks, Kingsbury said, “I hope not. Yeah, I hope not. I think there probably is some overreaction and usually it levels back out.”

Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray said there have been times when he’s been sacked where he felt a roughing the passer flag should have been thrown. In the same breath, however, he conceded that perhaps he hasn’t “earned that respect yet.”

“I know they’re trying to take care of the quarterbacks and stuff, which I’m not arguing or complaining about, but I understand the defense’s frustration and everybody watching,” Murray said. “It’s a physical game. We know what we signed up for. You’ve got to try to protect yourself as best as possible, so hopefully they can get it right.”

Read more: Seahawks QB Geno Smith will have the Cardinals' attention

Rhule of thumb

More often than not, when an NFL team hires a new head coach it means he’s also going to get fired at some point. It happened to Panthers coach Matt Rhule on Monday following Carolina’s 1-4 start to the season, Rhule’s third year into a seven-year deal with the team.

Someone asked Kingsbury if the move reminds him of the fragility of being an NFL head coach.

“Yeah, definitely,” he said. “I know Matt well. I texted with him after it happened and it’s a tough situation. I think he went through five quarterbacks in three years or whatever and so if you don’t find one of those guys — you can nail everything else, which I think he kind of did. I thought they had really good players, a really good culture, all these things and the quarterback play for whatever reason didn’t reach a level that it needed to.

“He’ll take his money and go get whatever college job he wants, so I don’t feel too bad for him. I know he wanted to finish it the right way. He’s a competitor. He’s been successful wherever he’s been, so he’ll be just fine.”

Related: Matt Rhule-ASU football coach speculation heats up with Carolina Panthers firing

Have an opinion on the Arizona Cardinals? Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic.com and follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac. Listen to him live on Fox Sports 910-AM every Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 on Calling All Sports with Roc and Manuch. 

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Report: Cardinals expected to be without James Conner, Darrel Williams