Jeremiyah Love, the Cardinals’ promising rookie running back, is heading to injured reserve after suffering a high-ankle sprain. This latest blow is expected to sideline him for four to five weeks, officially putting his challenging first NFL season on ice.
The Brutal Twist for the Cardinals’ Rookie
This wasn’t just some minor tweak either. Love got hit with a high-ankle sprain during their wild 33-30 overtime victory against the Dallas Cowboys. Head coach Mike LaFleur sounded absolutely gutted when he talked to reporters, reflecting the tough break for his young star. “It just stinks for him,” LaFleur said. “He wants to be out there helping his teammates. This guy loves ball. He just wants to contribute. He’s such a team guy, such a coachable guy, he’s such a likable guy. He just wants to be out there helping his guys. For him, going through what he’s going through, it’s adversity for sure, but he’s gonna be stronger because of this.” You can feel the frustration, right? For a guy who just wants to play, this is brutal.
A Rookie Year Plagued by Pain
This isn’t Love’s first dance with ankle trouble this season, and that’s the kicker. The 21-year-old, who was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft, has already dealt with ankle issues in both the preseason and during the regular season. What’s even crazier? This new injury is affecting a *different* part of the ankle than his previous problems. It’s like he just can’t catch a break. His stat line so far in six games tells part of the story: just 268 rushing yards and a single touchdown, plus 11 catches for 36 yards and another score. Not exactly the “hit the ground running” impact everyone, including fantasy fanatics, anticipated. He’s been in a platoon with Tyler Allgeier, not the featured back. And get this: Sunday’s game, where he got hurt again, was his *first game back* after a two-game absence already caused by his ongoing ankle problems. Ouch.
Love himself even talked about it last week, saying, “I am myself when I got my ankles… I feel like, as a running back or as a receiver, a lot of the moves that we do with our ankles and knees and stuff like that, I like to come to complete stops. It impacted me quite a bit. … I just want to go out there and be myself. I feel like the past few games, for really the whole season, I haven’t really been able to go out there and just feel like myself. I just feel like I just can’t go or I couldn’t go out there and just do what I wanted to.” You hear that? The guy couldn’t even be himself on the field. This latest setback just piles onto that frustration.
So, it’s back to the sideline for Love. This high-ankle sprain means he’ll be out for more than a month, leaving the Cardinals without their highly touted rookie. You gotta hope he can get completely healthy this time, put these ankle woes behind him, and come back stronger to finally unleash the talent everyone expected from a No. 3 overall pick. It’s a tough pill to swallow for him, and for the team.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleacher Report.
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