Arizona Cardinals rookie running back Jeremiyah Love will sit out the rest of the preseason as he recovers from a high ankle sprain suffered during his team’s preseason game against the Raiders. The Cardinals would go on to win the game 27-14, with Love accounting for 58 yards on the ground on 11 carries, while adding 3 receptions for 14 yards through the air.
The team plans on resting the 1st round pick for the remainder of the preseason with the hope that he’ll be good to go in Week 1 against the Chargers.
“It’s a rookie that hadn’t played,” head coach Mike LaFleur told reporters on Sunday. “Knowing that, not to share too many secrets because I haven’t said it with the players yet, but knowing that it was about what it was going to be in terms of how many games these guys were going to play for what we were looking for. So, yeah, that’s what the thought was.”
“He had a good time and, really, for him, his confidence level went through the roof after that third drive,” LaFleur continued. “And it’s just unfortunate that on the last play, he gets somewhat rolled up on.”
The Notre Dame alum had a strong junior season, rushing for 1,372 yards and 18 TDs on 199 carries in 2025. As a result, he finished 3rd in Heisman voting trailing Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia, and eventual winner Fernando Mendoza out of Indiana.
If he can get healthy for the season opener on September 13th, Love figures to feature prominently in Arizona’s backfield but may not see many favourable game scripts in the early going. The rebuilding Cardinals currently have the longest odds of any NFL team to win the Super Bowl this season, with most sports books putting them at 500-1 longshots.
The team currently features veteran backs Tyler Allgeier and James Conner as backup options, while Bam Knight, Trey Benson, and Evan Hull are additional depth pieces.
Arizona will take on the Dallas Cowboys in preseason action on August 22nd, followed by a tilt between the LaFleur brothers on the 28th when the Cardinals and Packers clash at 8pm ET.
Photo: Bobak Ha’Eri. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.