At some point, sooner rather than later, Jeremiyah Love will return. On Monday, coach Mike LaFleur said he feels good about the rookie running back being ready for the Chargers game Sunday.
At some point, he will become the main back for the Cardinals.
But what that means, and what might be hoped for, by fans or fantasy football Love owner, probably isn't the same.
"I do know this: not one running back can take all 65 snaps," coach Mike LaFleur said during training camp. "We've seen that story when guys are a little bit overloaded, and whether it hurts them in one year.
"I think over time, one year, two years, whatever it is, be able to split those guys up, one, to keep them fresh throughout that game, but two, to keep them as healthy as they can for 17 games is the appropriate way to go."
Long gone are the NFL days of 25 carries a game. Jonathan Taylor, who led the NFL in yards and carries last season, averaged less than 20 a game. And he is a workhorse, like (a healthy) Christian McCaffrey, or Derek Henry.
(McCaffrey's status this season will be one to watch; with catches, he did average 24 touches a game with his 102 receptions; to LaFleur's point, history has not been kind the following season for players with that heavy of a workload).
But back to Love.
The Cardinals signed Tyler Allgeier for a reason, and it isn't just to wait in case Love gets hurt. Last season, with the Rams, LaFleur helped orchestrate an offense that had a 1,200-yard rusher Kyren Williams. Williams averaged 15 carries a game, while No. 2 Blake Corum got 8.5 a game.
In Atlanta, Allgeier was at 8.4 carries a game behind superstar starter Bijan Robinson, who was at almost 17 carries to gain almost 1,500 yards.
The workhorses like Taylor, Henry, McCaffrey and James Cook of Buffalo, were over 18. That's not 25.
The Cardinals haven't had a running back with at least 250 carries in a season since David Johnson had 258 in 2018. James Conner's heaviest workload was 14.8 carries a game in 2024.
This isn't about a random bad luck ankle sprain Love suffered in preseason. (At this point, the Cardinals are going to play it close to the vest about his Week 1 availability, methinks.) This was always the plan.
Of course, plans can change. There could be a game where Love is scorching hot and the Cardinals just feed him. But generally, the Cardinals want to play it smart. Truthfully, that's the best way to maximize a back who looks the type of next-level player everyone thought he was.
