The Arizona Cardinals will be without No. 3 overall pick Jeremiyah Love on Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers.
Head coach Mike LaFleur told reporters ahead of practice on Wednesday that the rookie running back will not be suiting up Thursday night.
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With Arizona being selected for the Hall of Fame Game, along with the Carolina Panthers, the franchise gets an extra preseason game and will play four total instead of three like the other 30 teams in the league.
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Reports about Love have been good through training camp. Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said that everyone can see how explosive the running back is.
The biggest thing for Arizona is deciding how it wants to handle its running back room. Before using the No. 3 overall pick on Love in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Cardinals had signed free agent Tyler Allgeier to a two-year deal.
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Love and Allgeier join incumbent running backs James Conner and Trey Benson – both coming off season-ending injuries last year – for an all-of-a-sudden deep RB room.
The rookie RB finished third in Heisman voting last season at Notre Dame. Love played in 12 games and finished with 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns on 199 carries.
He has shown he can handle a heavy workload, but he is now an investment with the Cardinals, and they will look to manage his workload through his first preseason, starting with resting him Thursday.
While Love won’t play Thursday night, Arizona will be starting another important rookie. Third-round selection Carson Beck will be starting at quarterback. Veteran QB Jacoby Brissett will not play, so Beck is expected to get a good amount of reps in the game.
The other quarterbacks on Arizona’s roster are Gardner Minshew III and Kedon Slovis as the Cardinals look to determine Brissett’s backup to begin the season.
