Jeremiyah Love plays behind Allgeier

The Cardinals officially ruled Love out for this Sunday’s game against the Rams after he was. DNP in practice all week. Head coach Matt LaFleur said Love is not considered a candidate to be placed on injured reserve at this time, but the fact that he even has to mention that is cause for some concern that Love could be looking at a multi-week absence. LaFleur also added that Love’s lack of involvement in the passing game is due to his inability to run routes on his injured ankle. His practice status will be one to monitor next week when the Cardinals begin preparing for the Broncos. Tyler Allgeier should be in line for a busy day against the Rams and will be a volume-based RB2 play.

Tyler Allgeier should be rostered in 10-team leagues. The Cardinals have downplayed Love’s ankle issues, but two missed practices are not a good sign. He still has a chance to suit up in Week 6 against the Rams, but he is currently on the wrong side of questionable.

The Cardinals are listing Love with just one ankle injury, but recent reports, including quotes from LaFleur, have said that Love is still managing the high-ankle sprain he suffered in the preseason and may have injured the other ankle in Week 4. LaFleur said the current plan is to “give it a little bit of rest and see as the week goes on.” Tyler Allgeier offers little standalone value, but he should be rostered in 12-team leagues.

Asked about Love’s lack of route running — he has a 29 percent route participation rate on the season — LaFleur said the Cardinals’ pass blocking struggles often prevent Love from functioning as a pass catcher. “I wasn’t too confident in terms of getting into some of those ‘scat’ protections and stuff like that and five-man protections,” LaFleur said. “We wanted to have that extra body in there. There were a couple of times where I wanted to get him on some choice routes and stuff like that, but like I said I didn’t feel confident that we were going to be able to execute at the level that we needed to. But it is a good question.” Love, who has 13 targets and has been targeted on 21 percent of his pass routes, would need much more pass game involvement if he were to operate as an RB1 in fantasy leagues this season.

Allgeier was a non-factor, even with the Cardinals pulling Jeremiyah Love in the fourth quarter. Allgeier did not log a carry in the first quarter. He is nothing more than a bench stash moving forward. The Cardinals face the Rams in Week 6.

Love played extensively early in the game. He was the only Cardinals running back to record a carry in the first quarter. The Lions began running up the score in the second quarter, and Love was seemingly simply phased out as Jacoby Brissett repeatedly fired passes downfield. Later, in the fourth quarter, the camera suddenly showed Love standing on the sideline without his helmet. A reporter chimed in to say that Love had not received attention from the training staff, but noted that Love told her he is still managing the ankle injury he suffered in training camp. Reports also indicated that he tweaked his other ankle last week. Love’s weekly floor is sinking as his production becomes increasingly touchdown-dependent. That said, he should be in fantasy lineups as an RB2/3 against the Rams next week.

Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur said “It’s a maintenance thing with ankles, you guys see the way he cuts...I don’t know what he’s totally feeling, only he knows...but he’s doing good.” Great, not cryptic at all, Mike. Love is a reasonable low-end RB2 if his ankles decide he wants to play his full allotment of the 50/50 split against the Lions in Week 5.

The Cardinals’ star rookie running back appeared downtrodden after last week’s game after injuring his other ankle. His continued participation puts him on track to play, but his comments about occasionally preferring a snap count, coupled with his new injury, put him in the RB2/3 category. That said, the Cardinals’ game environment against the Lions this week should be fantasy-friendly.

Love was listed as a limited practice participant after he tweaked his ankle in the Cardinals’ Week 4 loss to the Giants. Though he seemingly seized command of Arizona’s backfield in Week 3, Tyler Allgeier was heavily involved in Week 4 as Love hurt his ankle. He was already nursing his other ankle heading into the season and may see limited touches again with this latest tweak. Love is still trending to play Week 5 against the Lions but may sit back on the RB2/3 borderline as his ankle heals.

Love will presumably have his practice reps monitored, but he isn’t at risk of missing Week 5. He went down with a new ankle injury late in the second quarter of Week 4. Love played sparingly in the second half but denied getting injured at all after the game. It sounds like it’s not a major issue, but it’s hard to feel confident in him handling a heavy workload after how things unfolded last week. He is tumbling back into the RB3 ranks for his upcoming game against the Lions.