Jeremiyah Love's rookie season is already off to a rocky start before it even gets going. Hayden Winks, one of the more plugged-in fantasy voices out there, dropped the news plainly: Love is not playing Week 1.
Jeremiyah Love is not playing Week 1. t.co/FAbx4RJeJ0
This isn't a total shock if you've been tracking the injury. Love went down with a high-ankle sprain in Arizona's preseason opener against the Raiders, and coach Mike LaFleur has already confirmed the rookie won't need surgery. That's the good news. The bad news is high-ankle sprains without surgery still typically carry a 2-to-6-week recovery window, which put Week 1 in real jeopardy from the jump. Love hasn't played since that opener, and he wasn't going to see preseason reps again either way.
The stakes here go beyond one missed game. Arizona spent the No. 3 overall pick on Love after he authored one of the best seasons a Notre Dame running back has ever had — 1,372 rushing yards, 18 rushing touchdowns, a Doak Walker Award, and a third-place Heisman finish. He was supposed to walk into the backfield as the clear lead back for a Cardinals offense that needed a jolt on the ground. Instead, he'll watch the opener against the Chargers on September 13 from the sideline, with Tyler Allgeier lined up to soak up the early-down work in his place.
18 days until the season opener. Jeremiyah Love:
That countdown clip hit timelines right as the injury news broke, a reminder of how much hype Love was carrying into his debut. Fantasy drafters have spent all summer treating him as a potential league-winner given his talent and Arizona's clear plan to feature him. Now those same drafters have to decide whether to bank on a Week 2 or Week 3 return, or fade him early and let someone else scoop up the discount.
For the Cardinals, this is a manageable setback rather than a crisis. Love doesn't need surgery, the timeline points to a return sometime in September, and Arizona has a credible bridge option in Allgeier. But for a rookie who was supposed to announce himself immediately after a record-breaking college run, losing the season opener is a frustrating way to start an NFL career that had so much momentum behind it.