Jeremiyah Love is now at risk of missing the Arizona Cardinals’ season opener.
The Cardinals’ rookie running back is dealing with a high-ankle sprain he sustained in a 27-14 preseason win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Love is unlikely to play the rest of the preseason.
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Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur said on Saturday that Love would be evaluated further next week, but did not provide specifics on the injury. The team, according to Schefter, is hopeful that he’ll be ready to go for its season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sept. 13.
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Love first injured his ankle after making a catch near the goal line in the middle of the field Thursday, and he was brought down awkwardly.
Love ended up playing 23 snaps in the game. He had 58 rushing yards on 11 carries, and had another 14 receiving yards on three catches.
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As for why Love was playing so much in the game, LaFleur said he wanted to give his new running back experience.
“It’s a rookie that hadn’t played,” LaFleur said 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.”
The Cardinals selected Love with the No. 3 overall pick in the draft earlier this year out of Notre Dame. He had 1,372 rushing yards and 21 total touchdowns with the Fighting Irish, and ended up finishing third in the Heisman Trophy voting.
“He had a good time and, really, for him, his confidence level went through the roof after that third drive,” LaFleur said. “And it’s just unfortunate that on the last play, he gets somewhat rolled up on.”
The Cardinals went 3-14 last season before hiring LaFleur to replace Jonathan Gannon. Love is, undoubtedly, expected to play a big role in the Cardinals’ offense this season as they try to rebound from last year’s rough campaign.
Whether his NFL career gets started on time now remains to be seen.
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