LaFleur: Love shouldn’t be impacted by ankle issue

It’s been an odd 24 hours for Love, who was quoted after Sunday’s game saying this is shaping up to be the “longest year” of his career while also adding that he’s “tired” and would be willing to pass off work to Tyler Allgeier or Bam Knight in the event that he doesn’t think he can do what is being asked of him. As for this latest injury, LaFleur said the ankle injury isn’t the same one Love injured in the preseason, meaning he now has two ankle injuries to manage for the rest of the season. The Cardinals’ backfield was already proving hard to predict, and the latest quote from Love, coupled with the injury news, doesn’t exactly instill more confidence in him going forward. He draws a plus Week 5 matchup against the Lions, but should be treated as a fringe RB2/RB3 for now.

Love engaged in a long, candid conversation with Cardinals beat reporters after the game today, saying his snaps are being managed because he currently is “not able to go out there and do spectacular plays every single time.” Love said this is probably going to be the “longest year” of his life, and his preseason ankle injury is not the only thing he is dealing with. Love said his body is sometimes just “tired,” and that he would “probably just hinder the team” if he took on more work in his current state. He rhetorically asked, “why not put somebody else out there that’s playing better?” For those wondering, the Cardinals don’t go on bye until Week 14. They face the fantasy-friendly Lions defense in Week 5, which could help Love get his confidence back with an efficient performance.

Love “added” a -8 yard reception. One week after seeming to seize complete command of the Cardinals’ backfield with a 26-touch, 109-yard performance, Love out-touched Tyler Allgeier just 15-10. It was Allgeier who notched a 22-yard touchdown. Asked about it afterwards, coach Mike LaFleur lamely mentioned something about the Cardinals’ two-minute offense. Twitter doctors were claiming Love — who had only one fourth quarter touch — was dealing with some sort of injury, but we didn’t see it. Neither LaFleur nor Love made any mention of any kind of supposed issue after the game. We assume he will be fine ahead of a potential Week 5 shootout with the Lions.

Love tallied a career-high 26 touches in Week 3, gashing the 49ers’ banged-up offensive line for over 100 total yards. The rookie out-snapped Tyler Allgeier 55-to-31 while also out-touching him 26-to-6. Nearly all the high-value touches went to Love, who scored on a play-action pass at the one-yard line. The path to true workhorse usage is wide open for Love after a monstrous workload and productive fantasy day against the 49ers. He is a high-end RB2 for Week 4 against the Giants.

On Friday, Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur said Love and RB Tyler Allgeier are going to rotate this season. Ultimately, they did in Week 2, but Love was in for the first series, running the ball on three of the Cardinals’ first six plays. The rookie running back looks spry and explosive, yet there was simply no room to run against the Seahawks’ elite defense. Although Love is still splitting snaps with RB Tyler Allgeier, Love out-touched him 12-7 this week. Love can be viewed as a low-end RB2/FLEX next week against the 49ers.

LaFleur is again insisting that Love, the No. 3 overall pick of this year’s draft, and 2026 free agent signee Allgeier will rotate in the backfield, while adding that it “is a long season.” Love saw 13 touches in last week’s win over the Chargers, while Allgeier had 19, and was out-snapped by Allgeier 41 to 32. A similar rotation going forward would put a damper on Love’s week-to-week upside after the rookie spent most of the offseason going as a top-30 pick in fantasy drafts, but he’ll maintain a decent value as long as he continues to see double-digit touches. Both Love and Allgeier will be hard to trust as anything more than fringe RB2/RB3 this week against the Seahawks.

Breer believes the split from Week 1 is “probably a good window into how they’ll manage” Love’s rookie year. Not exactly what we wanted to hear. Breer also mentions that James Connor could “help lighten the load” when he comes back. Love had 13 touches in Week 1. It sounds like this backfield will run by committee even after spending the No. 3 overall pick on Love.

Love was out-snapped 41 to 32 by Tyler Allgeier, who also handled 17 rush attempts compared to Love’s 11. While there was some concern over whether or not Love was on a snap count due to his ankle injury, LaFleur said the usage between the two backs was based on game flow. Love still managed to see 15 opportunities (11 rushes, 4 targets) in the win, but as long as he and Allgeier continue to split work, he will be hard to trust as anything more than a fringe RB2/RB3. Next week’s game against a stout Seahawks defense makes both backs risky bets.

Love started strong, running over LA defenders and scoring a first quarter touchdown while running almost all the routes out of the backfield. He ended up splitting route running duties with Tyler Allgeier, who also had two looks from Jacoby Brissett and led the Arizona backfield with 17 carries. Love ranked sixth among all running backs in rush yards over expected per attempt in Week 1. Perhaps the team wants to ease Love into a workhorse role as the season wears on. He’ll be a risky flex play in Week 2 against a stellar Seahawks defense.

Love missed a few weeks after sustaining a high ankle injury in his only preseason action but had enough time to get right before Week 1. The rookie first rounder will likely function as Arizona’s unquestioned No. 1 back barring any setbacks to his ankle injury. While his Week 1 matchup against LA is less than ideal, Love should be in all fantasy lineups. Cardinals declared Carson Beck, RG Isaiah Adams, DB Garrett Williams, S Rabbit Taylor-Demerson, DL Andrew Billings, and WR Reggie Virgil inactive for the team’s season opener.