Cardinals Clips
The quarterback whom Jim Harbaugh believes will be remembered as the greatest of all time has a chance to join the all-time greats on Sunday.
With 180 passing yards, Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert will reach 25,000 yards for his career. It would make him the fourth-fastest quarterback in NFL history to get there, via NBC Sports research.
Herbert, if he does it, will have done it in 96 games. Patrick Mahomes got there in 83. Matthew Stafford crossed the 25K boundary in 90 games. And Dan Marino did it in 92.
It’ll take much more than statistical achievements to earn “GOAT” status for Herbert. His first career playoff win, for example, would be a useful starting point.
Before that can happen, the Chargers have to qualify for the playoffs again. In a very competitive division and a conference featuring multiple wild-card contenders, it won’t be easy. Between the Bills, Patriots, Bengals, Ravens, Steelers, Texans, Jaguars, Broncos, Chiefs, and Chargers, at least three will have their seasons end in Week 18.
When it comes to the first game of football season, Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh does indeed attack the day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.
Except for someone named “Potsy.”
Harbaugh has a 6-0 record in Week 1, from his four seasons in San Francisco and two in L.A. With a win on Sunday against the Cardinals, he’ll be 7-0 in Week 1.
And that will put him one more Week 1 win away from tying the all-time record. Via NBC Sports research, George “Potsy” Clark had a record of 8-0-2 in Week 1, from 1931 to 1940.
Clark’s run started with the Portsmouth Spartans, who became the Detroit Lions. In 1937 and 1938, he coached the Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1940, his last year as an NFL head coach, Clark returned to the Lions.
It would be a surprise if the Chargers don’t win today. They host the Cardinals (who have lost nine straight Week 1 games), and the home team is a 9.5-point favorite.
The NFL has suspended free agent linebacker Xavier Thomas for the first three weeks of the season, according to the league’s personnel notice.
It is unclear why the NFL suspended Thomas.
Thomas, 26, was waived from injured reserve by the 49ers on Aug. 26.
He spent time in the offseason with the Texans before reaching an injury settlement with the team May 20. He signed with the 49ers on Aug. 12.
The Cardinals picked Thomas in the fifth round in 2024, and he played 14 games as a rookie and four last season.
He has totaled 10 tackles, 2.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a pass defensed, all in his rookie season.
The chances of Cardinals running back Jeremiyah Love making his NFL debut against the Chargers on Sunday are looking pretty strong.
Head coach Mike LaFleur said at a press conference that Love is “trending well” ahead of the team’s final practice of the week. Love injured his ankle in the team’s first preseason game and has been a limited participant in practice this week. The Cardinals will issue their last injury report after Friday’s practice.
Love said on Thursday that he will “fight my hardest to be out there every game this season,” but said he did not know where that would happen this weekend.
The Cardinals made Love the third overall pick in this year’s draft. He’ll share running back duties with Tyler Allgeier to kick off his time in the league.
Jeremiyah Love wants to play. He isn’t saying if he will play.
“If they want to put me out there, I’m going to go out and play, whether my ankle feels 100 percent, 50 percent, 70 percent,” Love said, via Darren Urban of the team website. “I just want to play football. I’ll fight my hardest to be out there every game this season.”
The rookie running back injured his ankle in an Aug. 13 preseason game against the Raiders. It was diagnosed as a high-ankle sprain, and he only returned to practice this week.
Love was limited again Thursday.
“I have been itching to get back out there ever since I injured my ankle,” Love said.
Coach Mike LaFleur said Wednesday “we feel good” about Love’s availability for Sunday’s season opener.
Love, the No. 3 overall pick, had 14 touches for 72 yards in his only preseason action.
Both of the biggest injury question marks for the Cardinals were limited participants in Thursday’s practice.
Linebacker Josh Sweat (knee, rest) returned to practice after sitting out on Wednesday. Sweat spent most of the summer on the physically unable to perform list before being activated on August 24.
Running back Jeremiyah Love (ankle) has been listed as limited on both of the team’s injury reports this week. Love was injured in the team’s first preseason game and head coach Mike LaFleur said this week that he feels good about the first-round pick’s chances of playing against the Chargers on Sunday.
Right guard Isaiah Adams (knee) and safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (ribs) were both out of practice. Adams has been out both days while Taylor-Demerson was downgraded from a limited session on Wednesday.
Cornerback Garrett Williams (Achilles) was also a limited participant while cornerback Will Johnson (ankle) got in a full practice.
Former NFL running back LeShon Johnson has been sentenced to 60 months in federal prison after he was convicted of six felonies related to dog fighting.
Authorities seized 190 dogs from Johnson’s property, the most dogs ever seized from any individual in a federal dog fighting investigation. This is Johnson’s second dog fighting conviction; he was also convicted of state dog fighting charges in Oklahoma in 2004.
“LeShon Johnson continued to traffic dogs for illegal fighting despite a 2004 state conviction for similar conduct,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson. “We are grateful to our colleagues at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma and the FBI for partnering with ENRD to bring this repeat offender to justice and to the U.S. Marshals Service for executing the biggest rescue operation of its kind.”
The Department of Justice says Johnson made hundreds of thousands of dollars through his dog fighting operation, selling dogs he described as fighting champions, selling puppies he said were bred to be fighting champions, and charging stud fees to other dog fighters so that his champion males could breed with their females.
The 55-year-old Johnson was a third-round pick of the Packers in 1994 and also played for the Cardinals and Giants before finishing his pro football career with the XFL’s Chicago Enforcers.
Signs continue to indicate that Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold suffered a major injury during Wednesday’s season opener.
After undergoing a CT scan and X-Rays on Wednesday night, Darnold underwent an MRI on Thursday morning that is under review, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. Darnold is expected to miss some time, but Schefter reports the team believes it “dodged a bullet.”
Darnold was sacked on the fifth play from scrimmage in Wednesday night’s game and came off the field with a visible limp. He was examined in the sideline medical tent before going up to the locker room for further evaluation. He was then transported to a local hospital to undergo a CT scan.
Head coach Mike Macdonald said postgame that Darnold did not suffer a fracture, which was positive news.
Drew Lock played in Darnold’s stead and helped lead Seattle to victory. Second-year QB Jalen Milroe is also on Seattle’s 53-man roster.
The Seahawks will be on the road to face the Cardinals in Week 2.
The Seahawks received some positive news on quarterback Sam Darnold, but the extent of his hip injury is still unclear.
In his postgame press conference on Wednesday night, head coach Mike Macdonald told reporters that doctors were able to rule out a fracture.
“Let’s say it’s good news right now. I know our thoughts and prayers are with Sam — we love him. The guys really pulled through for him,” Macdonald said. “At this point, we were able to rule out a fracture. So, there’s some more tests to be done. But that’s what I’m saying when it’s positive, but I know — we’re still working through all that, but right now a fracture is out, which is great news.”
Darnold exited the game in the first quarter after he was sacked on third down to end Seattle’s first possession. After limping off the field, he was examined in the sideline medical tent before limping back up to the locker room for further examination.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Darnold was transported to Harborview Medical Center to undergo a CT scan on his hip. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport noted Darnold received positive news on the CT scan and his X-Ray, indicating that he was able to avoid a major injury. But Darnold is scheduled for an MRI on Thursday to confirm the diagnosis.
Given the lack of clarity on the injury, Macdonald said he didn’t know what Darnold’s status would be for Seattle’s Week 2 matchup against Arizona.
Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur said this week that he feels good about running back Jeremiyah Love being in the lineup against the Chargers in Week 1, but it remains to be seen what kind of role the rookie will play coming off of an ankle injury.
It seems clear that any role for Love will include splitting time with Tyler Allgeier. The Cardinals have Allgeier listed as the No. 1 running back on their first depth chart of the regular season. Bam Knight is listed as the third running back.
That was also the case in the preseason, although Love did not play after injuring his ankle in the team’s first game of the summer.
Depth charts can change and it’s hard not to imagine that Love will wind up taking on more and more of the work if he produces the way he did at Notre Dame, but, for now, the Cardinals are calling Allgeier the starter.
