TEMPE, Ariz. — While training for the NFL Combine in Tampa, Florida, Trey Benson got a twist of fate.
He was watching the next generation of high school stars at a 7-on-7 tournament in February when he saw Arizona Cardinals running back Michael Carter coaching a team he sponsors. Benson immediately recognized Carter, who had been watching the game at the University of North Carolina, and approached the running back. Carter knew Benson well, as he was finishing his career at Florida State.
“We just clicked,” Benson said. “We were laughing. You would have thought we had known each other for years.”
During the conversation, Benson made an impromptu yet prescient remark: “If we were on the same team, it would be crazy.”
Two months later, that became a reality when the Cardinals selected him with the 66th overall pick.
Having Carter as a familiar face in Arizona has helped Benson adjust to the NFL, a new locker room and a new state.
“He’s like a big brother to me,” Benson said. “So he watches me and tells me what to do because he’s been in the league longer than I have.”
Carter, who said the two “hit it off”, described their first conversation as being similar to the famous Spider-Man meme where the two point fingers at each other because the two had so much in common.
Although he didn’t watch the draft, he quickly learned that Benson would be his new teammate and was one of the first to call him.
“I didn’t think we were going to draft a running back,” Carter told ESPN. “But when we did, and he was who he was, I was glad because he was a good guy.”
Carter naturally became Benson’s mentor, and he embraced the role despite being only three years older than him. He said he always kept the door open for Benson to ask questions and that he had no problem approaching Benson with advice or criticism.
After one training camp practice, Carter pulled Benson aside and told the rookie he needed to do a better job of blocking in pass protection.
“I really appreciate him,” Benson said. “He didn’t have to do it.”
That kind of mentorship and friendship is what Carter experienced when he first entered the NFL with the New York Jets in 2021. The older running backs guarded him, but he knew they didn’t need to.
He had heard stories of “sour veterans” throughout his career and knew he didn’t want to be that type of teammate. After spending a few months together as teammates, Benson said he could already tell Carter was going to make him a better player.
“In some ways it’s like mentorship, but ultimately it’s like brotherhood. If I do something wrong, he’ll tell me,” Carter said.
Now, Benson and Carter are competing for playing time in the same running back room.
Benson’s role in an offense that featured 1,000-yard rushing James Conner last season is still up in the air as Arizona closes out the regular season. Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said Benson is in control of his own destiny this season and if he can show that he needs to be on the field, the Cardinals may have no choice.
He’s established himself as a quiet guy, absorbing everything. Gannon said consistency will be key for Benson to get on the field.
In the first preseason game on Saturday, Benson played 17 snaps and ran for 21 yards on eight carries, but his best play came when he caught a screen pass down the field because of an illegal player and made a 19-yard catch and run.
Carter played 18 snaps and had seven carries for 41 yards and a touchdown. After the game, Carter said he wasn’t worried about the state of the running back room. He knows it’s a full seven-man running back room: Connor, Carter, DJ Dallas, Emari DeMercado, Hassan Hall, Tony Jones and himself. Everyone in there is competing for a spot on the roster and the playing time that comes with it. But so far, he said, there’s been no animosity, and it reminds Benson of the Florida State running back room, where the competition was friendly.
As Benson continues to work to earn a spot on the Cardinals’ 53-man roster, Carter will continue to mentor him.
“I thought, ‘There’s a reason we met,'” Benson said.
