In April, the Arizona Cardinals made Jeremiyah Love the highest-drafted running back since Saquon Barkley and fans have eagerly awaited his debut. But with the Cardinals playing in the NFL Hall of Fame Game tomorrow, it looks like fans will have to wait a bit longer.
On Wednesday, Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur announced that Love will not play on Thursday. He didn't indicate that it was the result of any sort of injury or lack of readiness.
Love has not played a football game since Notre Dame's November 29 regular season finale against Stanford. He rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown in that game, becoming the all-time single season touchdowns scorer for the Fighting Irish.
As much as NFL fans may be disappointed that there's no showcase of Love's talent to start the preseason, many understand that it's best not to risk injuries in an exhibition game.
"Protecting your #3 overall pick from an extra Hall of Fame Game exhibition on field turf is just common sense. We already know what Jeremiyah Love brings to the table no reason to risk health in game zero. Save those explosive carries for when the regular season games actually count," one user remarked on X.
"Reasonable. We don’t want him getting some bs injury before the season even (expletive) starts," wrote another.
"Who’s carrying the rock Thursday then? Protect the investment I guess but damn I wanted to see Love cook already," a third wrote.
© Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images.
Love & The Cardinals
Jeremiyah Love and rookie quarterback Carson Beck have the pretty unenviable task of trying to get the Arizona Cardinals out of the doldrums. Things have been pretty rough for the team over the past four years, which includes four losing seasons, two head coach firings and three seasons of 13 or more losses.
Worst of all, the Cardinals have the near-impossible task of trying to make headway in a division with the defending Super Bowl champions, the NFC runner-ups and a 49ers team that is among the toughest in the league when healthy.
Simply put, Love and Beck will probably need to be superstars if they want to dig their way out of this hole.
