When Cardinals rookie running back Jeremiyah Love recently put pen to paper on his rookie contract, he secured the biggest full guarantee of any running back in NFL history. And while some will argue that the contract sets a new bar for full guarantees at the running back position, the truth is that the compensation package reflects not the fact that he’s a running back but the fact that he was the third overall pick in the draft.
Rookie deals are driven not by position on the field but by position in the draft process. Anyone taken in that spot would have gotten the same deal. It wouldn’t have mattered whether he was a running back, quarterback, defensive end, or any other position. The contract comes from where the player was picked, not where he lines up or how often he plays.
That said, the Cardinals were willing to make the financial investment that went with picking Love third. They could have taken a running back later in the draft, and paid him a lot less. Picking Love with the third selection comes with the price of committing to a four-year, $53 million contract. And because all first-round picks are fully guaranteed for four years, he gets it all.
When it’s time for veteran running backs to renegotiate their current contracts or become free agents, the Love deal won’t be part of the analysis. It wasn’t negotiated based on the market at the position. It was automatic, a reflection only of the fact that he was the third overall pick.
The average payout of $13.25 million per year puts him at seventh among all running backs. Jets running back Breece Hall, whose new deal with the Jets includes only $29 million guaranteed, will make $15.25 million per year — four spots ahead of Love.
The contract for Love that will become relevant to the market is his second one. It will be determined by the market at the position at the time the Cardinals offer him a second contract (if/when they do).
Carson Beck is working with the Cardinals for the first time at this weekend’s rookie minicamp and another quarterback was also a topic of conversation during head coach Mike LaFleur’s press conference on Friday.
Jacoby Brissett has not been taking part in the team’s offseason workouts as he looks for an adjustment to his current contract. LaFleur was asked about where things stand regarding conversations that would lead to Brissett joining the team.
“Ongoing. Everything’s good from a dialogue standpoint,” LaFleur said. “Like we said, this is voluntary. So that’s where we’ll leave it.”
LaFleur was also asked if he felt “behind the 8-ball” because Brissett is missing time in a new offense.
“He’s played a lot of football,” LaFleur said. “We’re in communication, he knows what the expectation is.”
Beck and Gardner Minshew will be getting more work as long as Brissett is away from the team. If one of them makes the most of the increased opportunity, Brissett’s absence could impact who is under center come the start of the regular season.
Add running back Jeremiyah Love to the list of 2026 first-round picks who have signed their first NFL contracts.
The Cardinals announced that Love has signed his four-year deal with the team on Friday. Love is guaranteed just over $53 million under the terms of the agreement and that is the most guaranteed money any running back in the league is due under their current contract.
Arizona has a fifth-year option on Love’s deal. A decision on exercising it will be due after Love’s third season.
Love led the nation in rushing, rushing touchdowns and overall offensive touchdowns in each of his final two years at Notre Dame. He’s expected to jump right into a major role in the Arizona offense to kick off his professional career.
The Cardinals announced that they signed three of their third-day picks on Thursday.
Fifth-round wide receiver Reggie Virgil, sixth-round linebacker Karson Sharar and seventh-round offensive lineman Jayden Williams are under contract.
Virgil joins a room stacked with 12 other players and will seek to find playing time behind Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson and Kendrick Bourne.
Virgil and Sharar will try to win a spot on the roster with their special teams play. Sharar played more than 570 special teams snaps during his time at Iowa.
Williams, a versatile lineman from Ole Miss, started every game at right tackle last season. He also has 19 starts at left tackle since 2022.
The Cardinals also announced they released wide receiver Andre Baccellia on Thursday. They also designated offensive lineman Valentin Senn as their international player, meaning the team can carry 91 players this offseason.
Quarterback Carson Beck got a reminder of how long he spent in college when he got to the Cardinals facility ahead of this weekend’s rookie minicamp.
The third-round pick caught up with left tackle Paris Johnson, who is going into his fourth NFL season and was on the same recruiting trip to the University of Georgia with Beck. Beck wound up spending five seasons at Georgia — he was a starter there in 2023 and 2024 — before moving on to Miami last year and getting drafted in the third round by the Cardinals last month.
“I think everybody has to run their own race,” Beck said on Thursday, via the team’s website. “Those three years I had of playing and starting are priceless.”
Beck added that “experience is nothing if there is no application from the lessons that you’ve learned from the experiences” and said he plans to keep growing as he works his way into a quarterback depth chart that includes Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew.
“Even if I were to be the guy at some point, you are constantly learning, through game experience, through past experience, meetings, just talking to guys around the facility, you’re trying to get breadcrumbs from each and every person,” Beck said. There’s only one guy out there . . . Obviously, I would love to play and perform but again, we’ll see where it takes me.”
There are more daunting quarterback rooms around the NFL and the Cardinals have a new coach with few ties to anything that went on in the past, which could serve Beck well if he shows upside once he’s on the field in Arizona.
