Cardinals rookie running back Jeremiyah Love impressed in his preseason debut against the Raiders on Thursday, but it will be his last game action for a little while. Love is dealing with a high ankle sprain that will likely shelve him for the rest of the preseason, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
While the Cardinals are still a few weeks from their season opener against the Chargers on Sept. 13, Love’s status for the game is now in question. The Cardinals hope to have him back by then, per Schefter.
Love was arguably the best player available in this year’s draft, but the Cardinals’ decision to take him third overall drew mixed reviews. The rebuilding club passed on more obvious needs at other positions (right tackle and edge defender, to name two examples). Plus, thanks to the rookie wage scale, they had to give Love a record contract for his position.
Love inked a four-year deal featuring $53MM in guarantees in May. At the time, that was $17MM more than second-place Saquon Barkley ($36MM). The Lions’ Jahmyr Gibbs ($51.48MM) and the Falcons’ Bijan Robinson ($51.07MM) closed the gap with the extensions they signed earlier this month, but the two superstars still sit behind Love.
The Cardinals drafted Love with the expectation that he would join the likes of Barkley, Gibbs and Robinson as an elite playmaker. Love fit the bill at Notre Dame, where he averaged an incredible 6.7 yards per carry on 433 attempts and scored 42 touchdowns (36 rushing, six receiving) in 41 games. With 72 total yards, including 58 on 11 carries (5.3 YPC), the 21-year-old held his own in what will likely be his lone preseason game this year.
If Love is not ready for the beginning of the season, the Cardinals have free agent pickup Tyler Allgeier in the fold as insurance. Allgeier posted a 1,000-yard rookie season in Atlanta in 2022, but he lost the starting job when the team drafted Robinson eighth overall the next year. After playing second fiddle to Robinson for three seasons, Allgeier joined the Cardinals on a two-year, $12.25MM pact in March. He likely expected to push for a starting spot at the time, but the Cardinals put the kibosh on those plans when they chose Love.
Aside from Love and Allgeier, Arizona also has James Conner, Trey Benson and Zonovan Knight in its stable of backs. Conner missed 14 games with an ankle injury in 2025, though, and he still has not received clearance for 11-on-11 work. Benson is reportedly a cut candidate, but the 2024 third-rounder could stand a better chance to make the Cardinals if they are unsure of Love’s status when they finalize their roster on Aug. 30.