Zonovan Knight

Zonovan "Bam" Knight (born April 11, 2001) is an American professional football running back and kickoff returner for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the NC State Wolfpack.

Early life Knight attended Southern Nash High School in Bailey, North Carolina. During his high school career, he had a school record 5,073 rushing yards and 71 touchdowns. He committed to North Carolina State University to play college football.

College career As a true freshman at NC State in 2019, Knight started seven games and led the team with 745 yards on 136 carries with five touchdowns. In 2020, he again led the team with 788 yards on 143 carries with 10 touchdowns. He returned to NC State as the starter in 2021.

Professional career

New York Jets Knight signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent on May 6, 2022. He made the Jets' initial 53-man roster on August 30. Knight was waived by New York on September 5. He was re-signed to the team's practice squad the next day. Knight was promoted to the active roster on October 25. Knight made his NFL debut on November 27 against the Chicago Bears, where he set a new franchise record with 103 yards from scrimmage in his debut, including 69 rushing yards.

Knight was waived by the Jets as part of final roster cuts on August 28, 2023.

Detroit Lions On August 30, 2023, Knight was signed to the Detroit Lions' practice squad. On September 19, Knight was signed to the active roster. He was placed on injured reserve on October 14.

On August 27, 2024, Knight was released by the Lions.

New York Jets (second stint) On November 26, 2024, Knight was signed to the New York Jets' practice squad.

Arizona Cardinals On January 7, 2025, Knight signed a reserve/future contract with the Arizona Cardinals. On August 26, he made the Cardinals' initial 53-man roster as a kick returner. Following injuries to James Conner, Trey Benson, and Emari Demercado, Knight stepped in as the number one running back on the team. On December 16, Knight was placed on injured reserve due to a season-ending ankle injury suffered in Week 15 against the Houston Texans. He finished the season with 269 rushing yards and four touchdowns through 12 games and eight starts.

On March 12, 2026, Knight re-signed with the Cardinals on a one-year contract.

NFL career statistics Legend Bold Career high Regular season YearTeamGamesRushingReceivingFumbles GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost 2022 NYJ 7 4 85 300 3.5 48 1 13 100 7.7 16 0 2 1 2023 DET 2 0 3 13 4.3 8 0 1 8 8.0 8 0 0 0 2025 ARI 12 8 82 269 3.3 17 4 22 160 7.3 20 1 1 1Career 21 12 170 582 3.4 48 5 36 268 7.4 20 1 3 2 Special teams YearTeamGamesPunt returnsKick returns GP GS Ret Yds Avg Lng TD Ret Yds Avg Lng TD 2022 NYJ 7 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 18 18.0 18 0 2023 DET 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 22 22.0 22 0 2025 ARI 12 8 0 0 0 0 0 12 256 21.3 28 0Career 21 12 0 0 0 0 0 14 296 21.1 28 0