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Jeremiyah Love won’t be taking the field Thursday night when the Arizona Cardinals face the Carolina Panthers. Arizona’s No. 3 overall pick will sit out his first career preseason game, head coach Mike LaFleur confirmed Wednesday ahead of practice.
LaFleur told reporters the rookie running back simply won’t suit up for the matchup.
Arizona and Carolina both landed a spot in this year’s Hall of Fame Game, which means an extra preseason contest for both franchises. While the other 30 teams stick to three preseason games, the Cardinals and Panthers get four.
Building Depth at Running Back
Training camp reports on Love have been nothing but positive. Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett has pointed out the explosiveness that everyone in the building can see.
Managing the running back rotation is turning into Arizona’s biggest offseason puzzle. The Cardinals had already brought in Tyler Allgeier on a two year deal before ever using that top three pick on Love back in the draft.
That’s a crowded backfield now.
James Conner and Trey Benson round things out – both are working their way back from season ending injuries last year. Combine that with Love and Allgeier, and Arizona suddenly has one of the deeper running back rooms in the league.
Love’s college production speaks for itself. He finished third in Heisman voting last season at Notre Dame, piling up 1,372 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns on just 199 carries across 12 games.
He’s clearly capable of carrying a heavy workload. But that’s exactly why Arizona wants to be careful with him right now – he represents a major investment, and resting him Thursday is the first step in managing his snap count through this preseason.
Beck Gets His Shot Under Center
Love isn’t the only rookie sitting out Thursday, but he’s also not the only one getting an opportunity. Third round pick Carson Beck will start at quarterback for Arizona.
Veteran Jacoby Brissett is being held out as well, which should open the door for Beck to see extended playing time throughout the game.
Gardner Minshew and Kedon Slovis round out the quarterback room. Arizona is using this preseason to sort out who backs up Brissett once the regular season begins – and Thursday’s game against Carolina could go a long way toward answering that question.
