Cardinals star RB Jeremiyah Love suffered his third injury just 8 weeks into the season this Sunday vs. the Dallas Cowboys.
The rookie running back appeared to tweak his ankle early in the game and limped off to the sideline.
Cardinals Place Jeremiyah Love on IR
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport confirmed that the Cardinals are placing Jeremiyah Love on Injured Reserve because of ahigh-ankle sprain that will keep him out for at least 4-5 weeks.
“This is new, so this is not the left ankle or the right. It’s a new portion of the ankle. So I’ll keep it at that. I’m going to know a little bit more tomorrow. And I haven’t talked to him yet, so out of respect for not talking to him yet, I’ll give you guys more on Wednesday,” head coach Mike LaFleur said of Love’s injury in his media appearance, via Bo Brack.
Both injuries that Love suffered previously were ankle injuries. Love’s first ankle sprain, a high sprain in his right ankle, came in his preseason debut against the Raiders, when he also had to take 4 weeks before returning for the Week 1 game.
He then sprained his left ankle early in the regular season, pushed through a few games, then re-aggravated it badly in Week 4 vs. the Giants. That sidelined him for two more weeks before he finally got to play against the Cowboys in Week 8.
LaFleur on Jeremiyah Love Injury
“It’s frustrating. It just stinks for him. He wants to be out there helping his teammates. Like, this guy loves the ball. He just wants to contribute. He’s such a team guy, such a coachable guy. Such a likable guy. And for him to go through what he’s going through- it’s adversity, for sure. But he’s going to be stronger because of this,” LaFleur added.
This puts the Cardinals in a dangerous backfield bottleneck. Bam Knight is also out with injury, and Tyler Allgeier is the only man (barely) standing in the RB room, since he’s also coming off a toe injury last week.
Forcing Allgeier to swallow a heavy rep load while managing his own injury can only take the Cardinals so far. They need an urgent new signing or a blockbuster trade bringing in a running back.
Cardinals’ Jeremiyah Love Gets Crushing IR Update Ahead of Week 9 vs. Ravens