Jeremiyah Love had a simple admission to make before ending the Arizona Cardinals‘ waiting game.
“It helped me get back to myself,” Love said about coming back from his ankle injury, via Bo Brack.
Head coach Mike LaFleur gave Love the green light to play on Sunday vs. the Dallas Cowboys after missing consecutive games against the Lions and Rams.
Love’s ankle issue had been nagging him since early in the year, stripping him of his signature twitchy lateral burst. But after sitting out two straight games and letting the joint settle, the rookie is locked in for Week 8, and he had plenty to say about where he’s at physically heading into the Cowboys matchup.
Jeremiah Love Opens Up on Ankle Injury Rehab
“The rest was needed,” Love said Friday. “Really the whole season, I haven’t been able to feel like myself. I haven’t felt like Jeremiyah Love that the people see. I couldn’t do what I wanted to do. You ain’t see me hurdle anybody, any (expletive) spin move, none of that stuff.”
Love’s been stuck in a double-ankle nightmare all season. He sprained his right ankle in his preseason debut against the Raiders, rushed back for Week 1, and then tweaked his left ankle early in the regular season before severely re-aggravating it on a hard cut against New York in Week 4.
Because it’s his left ankle, Love physically couldn’t plant his left foot to cut back or explode out of route breaks. It wiped out his lateral agility and completely removed him as a threat in the passing game.
Instead of forcing him out there at 70%, where he admitted he was hobbling and couldn’t play like himself, the staff shut him down for two games to let the tissue fully heal. He returned to practice in limited fashion on Oct. 28 and is officially active to suit up against Dallas in Week 8.
For a rookie built on pure twitch and explosive cutbacks, playing hobbled at 70 percent was doing more harm than good, making Arizona’s decision to finally shut him down a necessary reality check.
Love Ready to Win for Cardinals
“That was kind of frustrating. But it is what it was. Moving on to the next thing. And I got some time to rest, and now I’m back up. Just excited to go out there and help my team. I really don’t focus on personal stuff, so I just want to do my job,” Love added.
Whether Mike LaFleur eases him in on a pitch count or turns him completely loose will decide if the Cardinals bounce back after Week 7 loss to the Broncos or drop another winnable game vs. the Cowboys.
“We have to be the tone setters,” Love said. “We are growing the identity as a running back room that we have to go out and set the tone. We have to be the backbone of the offense.”
With his body finally right, Love’s ready to turn all that talk into actual production alongside Arizona’s rotation.
“I ain’t myself if I ain’t got my ankles,” Love said.
Jeremiyah Love Delivers Blunt 6-Word Reality Check Before Cardinals vs. Cowboys