Football officially returns to the television airwaves on Thursday night with the first NFL Preseason game of the season. Notre Dame fans were hoping that the return of games meant that they’d get a preview of Jeremiyah Love’s rookie season. Unfortunately, the Arizona Cardinals have something else in mind. Head coach Mike LaFleur announced on Wednesday that the first-round pick will sit out this game.
That the former Fighting Irish star will sit out Thursday’s game isn’t a total shock. The Hall of Fame Game is an extra preseason game on an NFL team’s slate. That means the Cardinals will have three more weeks to get Love game action before the regular season begins. As a general rule, teams in this game tend to sit their starters and don’t even play their primary backups all that often.
The decision to sit Jeremiyah Love will likely get the ears up of some Notre Dame football fans simply because the Cardinals coaching staff has said some … odd things about the rookie back. Those comments have some doubting whether he’ll be the top rusher for Arizona this season.
Earlier this offseason, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said that Love definitely “looked like a rookie” at a press conference. Those words struck some as odd if only because the Cardinals used the No. 3 overall pick to take him, and Love has looked among the best in the sport at every level he’s been at.
Arizona Cardinals sit Notre Dame football star Jeremiyah Love in preseason opener
Some Notre Dame fans will see Love’s benching on Thursday night as another slight aimed at someone that Hackett seemed a little less than impressed with than others. However, this move feels more in line with something the Cards would do if the rookie is making strides towards being the starter fans expected.
It’s also likely not a coincidence that Arizona announced it’s starting rookie quarterback Carson Beck. Beck isn’t expected to be the starting quarterback this season and, to put it bluntly, the team will do fine if something disastrous happens and he’s injured during Thursday’s game. The same can’t be said about Jeremiyah Love.
Tyler Allgeier, James Conner, Trey Benson, Bam Knight, Evan Hill, and Corey Kiner are the other backs on the Cardinals' roster. Among that group, Conner is unlikely to get a ton of carries if any at all, considering he’s thought to be one of the top competitors for playing time once the regular season rolls around.
Notre Dame football fans will no doubt be bummed that Jeremiyah Love won’t play in the first preseason game of the year, but Arizona could be tipping its hand that Irish fans will see him plenty when the games count.
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