‘Hard Knocks’ director teases ‘shocking’ episode on cut of Cardinals RB

Arizona Cardinals and NFL fans tuned in Wednesday for the second episode of ‘Hard Knocks in Season: The Arizona Cardinals’ hoping for the show to shed more light on the mysterious release of running back Eno Benjamin.

They’ll have to wait for the next episode for that.

NFL Films and HBO Hard Knocks director Terrell Riley joined the PHNX Cardinals podcast with Bo Brack and Johnny Venerable after the episode aired on HBO Wednesday night and teased ‘shocking’ footage of Benjamin as part of the third episode of the program, which is scheduled to air on Nov. 23 at 8 p.m. MST.

When asked if we can expect something on Benjamin in the next episode, Riley said:  ‘Yes, definitely watch Show 3. Absolutely.’

When further prodded about what to expect, Riley was asked if Cardinals fans should get their popcorn ready.

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His response?

‘Absolutely. I would say. We were hearing a lot that he was a fan favorite, being a hometown guy.’ Riley added. I’ll say yes, stay tuned and watch Show 3.’

After being asked for more details on Benjamin and his release, Riley said: ‘It was shocking to me, yeah, I will say that. For us, yes. That have been documenting and doing these shows for a while, yeah, it was a little shocking.’

On Monday afternoon, the Cardinals released Benjamin in a surprise move.

An Arizona State product that was drafted by the Cardinals in the seventh round in the 2020 NFL draft, Benjamin had stepped up his game this season before his release.

He had 299 rushing yards and 184 receiving yards on the season filling in for previously injured starter James Conner. Benjamin averaged 4.3 yards per carry and had two rushing touchdowns on the year.

However, when Conner returned in Arizona’s win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, Benjamin did not get a carry and had one kickoff return for 10 yards.

He played just one snap on offense.

The Arizona Republic’s Kent Somers detailed what happened between Benjamin and the Cardinals in a recent column, writing that Benjamin was upset about his lack of playing time in the game against the Rams.

Benjamin was picked up by the Houston Texans, who were awarded a waiver wire claim on the running back, shortly after his release.

Too bad the Cardinals don’t face the Texans this season. That would have made for a very interesting future episode of ‘Hard Knocks.’

According to the show’s director, the next episode is going to be interesting enough as it is.

Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.