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When is James Conner coming back? Will James Conner play again this season? Read about James Conner's return date and injury updates for 2026.
Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner (foot) remains on injured reserve after suffering a massive ankle injury early last season.
The 31-year-old RB remained an elusive and powerful back late into his career, and likely missed the rest of his late prime due to the unfortunate ailment.
But he remains under contract for the Cardinals, and considering the poor state of their run game, could see some work when he returns. When will that be, though? And is he a viable fantasy starter when he's back?
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James Conner Injury Update for Fantasy Football
Conner was reported to be "close to practicing" before Week 6, but ultimately did not see his practice window open. He has a 21-day window to be elevated to the active roster after that window is opened, or he must be placed on season-ending injured reserve.
It doesn't appear that he'll need all three weeks to return, though. We could see him back as soon as Week 7, though Week 8 is more likely, as players often return the week after seeing their window opened.
Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur shares a moment with James Conner (in full pads) before practice gets going. https://t.co/WzsN7Nx1rt
— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) July 28, 2026
While Conner has been spotted at practice, he hasn't been healthy enough to actually participate yet. Look for that to change within the next two weeks. He should be back soon.
James Conner Fantasy Football Outlook
Conner's career is mostly finished at this point. He's on the wrong side of 30 years old, and will have to compete with the third overall draft pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, running back Jeremiyah Love (ankle) and his backup, Tyler Allgeier, for work in the backfield.
Love is dealing with an aggravation of the high-ankle sprain he suffered in the offseason. It's hard to tell if he'll be much of a factor this season, though he was getting plenty of touches before he got hurt.
Jeremiyah Love makes it a one-score game in the Bay 👀
@AZvsSF on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/0mdc38FjPE— NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2026
Love has been disappointing in fantasy football this season, and doesn't look like his normal self on the field. Players with high-ankle sprains tend to not return to their previous level of production until the next season.
But even if Love loses touches to injury or simply misses more time after Conner returns, Allgeier is a perfectly capable back. He can handle big workloads, plays acceptably enough as a pass-catcher, and is a big back that's good in short-yardage and goal-line situations.
Tyler Allgeier opens up the scoring with authority 😤
BUFvsATL on ESPN
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App https://t.co/1zwXODTz1P— NFL (@NFL) October 13, 2025
Allgeier was once again usurped for the lead role by a rookie RB drafted early in the first round. But he's a legitimate must-start in all fantasy leagues in games that Love doesn't play. The Cardinals offense just hasn't been good, though.
Whatever Conner's 100 percent is at his current age, it will be less when he actually takes the field. And the team's run-blocking hasn't been very good. They beat the Los Angeles Rams in Week 6, but Allgeier averaged just 2.1 yards per carry in the effort.
The ceiling case for Conner is that he gets 10 touches per game. He wouldn't be startable in any fantasy leagues unless he had elite efficiency with those touches. There's not much reason to pick up or start the veteran RB when he comes back.
Who Should I Start Tool
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Week 7 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players: Tyler Allgeier, Bam Knight, Jeremiyah Love. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 7.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, player news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 7 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 7 (2026)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 7 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 7 for Tyler Allgeier, Bam Knight, Jeremiyah Love:
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