Just a few days after former Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love showed why he was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, there’s genuine concern about when he’ll follow up an electric first preseason appearance.
Love led the Cardinals in touches on Thursday night when Arizona took on the Las Vegas Raiders. The former Irish running back had 11 carries, including several that were quite impressive, and three catches, but after playing most of the first half, it turns out he didn’t come away unscathed.
On Saturday morning, Cards head coach Mike LaFleur told reporters that the ex-Notre Dame star had more soreness after an ankle injury than the team expected. That was the bad news. The worse news is that it’s bad enough that LaFleur wouldn’t commit to Love being ready for the season opener.
While it doesn’t appear much is known about the severity of the injury, LaFleur added that Love won’t practice this week. It also sounded like, despite two more preseason games on Arizona’s schedule, the running back won’t see action in either game. That latter point certainly makes sense.
Mike LaFleur said that Jeremiyah Love came in more sore than expected today with his ankle injury and will not practice this week. LaFleur did not commit to Love being available for Week 1.
— Theo Mackie (@theo_mackie) August 15, 2026
Jeremiyah Love ankle injury clouds former Notre Dame football star’s Cardinals debut season
The former Notre Dame Heisman finalist might have shown all he needed to in a live game when he ran over, around, and through the Raiders on his way to 5.3 yards per carry. Several of those carries looked quite a bit like the kind of stuff he routinely did in South Bend, including abruptly changing direction and hurdling defenders to get an extra yard.
On the other hand, perhaps he should have kept both feet on the ground, just in case it was on that play that Love first suffered the injury. LaFleur said the Cardinals will revisit the running back’s status after this week, but he wouldn’t commit to a long-term prognosis for Love.
That should terrify Cardinals fans who saw what he did in his first-ever NFL action and started licking their chops thinking about what he could do when the games count. Arizona has a deep bench at the position, so in that regard they’re not in a ton of trouble; however, none of the other backs have the explosiveness or playmaking ability of Love.
The injury is also just a massive bummer for Notre Dame fans who were looking forward to seeing Jeremiyah Love wage a campaign for offensive rookie of the year with the Cardinals. It is, of course, entirely possible that he’ll be 100% by Week 1, but LaFleur’s comments and demeanor don’t fill the listener with a ton of confidence.
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