Last week, the Arizona Cardinals traded the No. 4 overall pick from two years ago, shipping off wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. to the Houston Texans. This week, the Cardinals ruled out this year’s No. 3 overall pick, revealing that running back Jeremiyah Love will be sidelined with an ankle injury for Sunday’s road game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Harrison never realized his potential in the desert, and Love’s off to a concerning start during his rookie campaign.
His latest ankle issue, this one affecting his left, has noticeably limited his impact of late. First-year head coach Mike LaFleur told reporters Friday that holding Love out this week is “what’s right” for the Notre Dame product.
LaFleur also said there’s been “no discussion of IR” when it comes to Love, who he believes, with adequate time to rest, could come back himself, both as a ball carrier and as a receiver.
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“You guys see the way he cuts, just being candid. I mean, he cuts hard. That’s a superpower of his. And when he’s putting his left foot in the ground, it’s just not right right now,” LaFleur said.
“To get him to be to his best ability, it’s what’s right, so he can go out and perform the way that he wants. So that he can go out and honestly run the routes that he wants. Because to run routes and separate, you’ve got to be able to put those feet on the ground, and it’s got to be deliberate. So we want to get him healed so he can do that in the pass game and in the run game.”
LaFleur added: “He is going to be a big part of our pass game when we feel like he’s capable of doing that — because he has it in his body. We just need to get him healthy.”
There’s been ample outside noise about Love’s lack of usage in Arizona’s aerial attack. In five games, he’s logged 65 snaps where he’s run a receiving route, according to Pro Football Focus. In the process, he’s caught just 11 passes and recorded a mere 36 receiving yards, registering, per PFF, a pedestrian 0.55 yards per route run.
For reference, of running backs with at least 10 targets this season, Ty Johnson of the Buffalo Bills ranks first with 3.54 yards per route run. Detroit Lions star Jahmyr Gibbs is fourth in that data set with 2.06 yards per route run, per PFF.
During Love’s final season at Notre Dame, he finished with 1.83 yards per route run. Along the way, he reeled in 27 passes for 280 yards and three scores as part of his 21-touchdown campaign that made him a Heisman Trophy finalist and a top-three draft pick.
Love sprained his right ankle in his only preseason game, an Aug. 13 exhibition against the Las Vegas Raiders. That setback reopened the everlasting dialogue about preseason playing time, as it occurred on a night when Love piled up 14 touches, including 11 carries.
He put on spectacle, spinning and hurdling past defenders while accumulating 72 scrimmage yards, but at an unfortunate cost. Love missed three weeks of practice.
That said, he suited up for the Cardinals’ season opener, in which they picked up their lone win, albeit against the still-winless Los Angeles Chargers. He secured his first career rushing touchdown in that game.
Two weeks later, versus the San Francisco 49ers on the road, he had his best game yet, stacking 109 scrimmage yards and finding the end zone as a receiver.
LaFleur said Friday, though, that Love’s left ankle injury became “visually” evident in an Oct. 4 road loss to the New York Giants.
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Last week versus the Lions, Love rushed for a meager 22 yards on 12 totes. LaFleur said that, by the next day — this past Monday — the Cardinals knew they were going to give Love Wednesday off before reassessing.
Even then, however, Arizona knew the first-year pro playing in L.A. on Sunday was probably a “longshot,” LaFleur said Friday.
Love didn’t practice all week, as stated in the team’s injury report.
“Always in the best interest of putting these guys out there if they’re healthy enough,” LaFleur said. “And we just felt like it wasn’t improving and maybe even getting a little bit worse. At that point, it’s like, if it’s not improving, and it’s getting a little bit worse, we got to do what’s right for the player.”
LaFleur didn’t tip his hand whether Tyler Allgeier would get the lion’s share of carries on Sunday against the Rams or if Bam Knight would get the workload Allgeier’s had behind Love this season.