TEMPE, Ariz. - Mike LaFleur sounded more hopeful than certain Monday when the conversation turned to Jeremiyah Love and Arizona's season opener at the Los Angeles Chargers.
"I feel good (about his chances)," the Cardinals coach said, according to ESPN's Josh Weinfuss. Love was moving around in Monday's walk-through and "progressing" after a high-ankle sprain that has kept him out since mid-August. The first official injury report of the week arrives Wednesday. Until then, the club is talking optimism, not a guarantee.
Four weeks and counting
Love suffered the sprain Aug. 13 in the preseason against the Las Vegas Raiders and did not play or practice the rest of the exhibition schedule. He was in street clothes at the last open practice, a reminder that high-ankle injuries often linger even when a player looks comfortable in a walk-through. Roughly four weeks have passed since the sprain.
That is enough time for some backs to return and not enough for others - which is why LaFleur's tone mattered more than any absolute claim.
The Cardinals drafted Love third overall out of Notre Dame to be a foundational piece of the run game. Missing the opener would not rewrite that plan, but it would push the first real look at the first-round investment deeper into September and put more early-season volume on the veterans already on the 53-man roster.
Allgeier and Knight as the bridge
Arizona's active backfield lists Tyler Allgeier, Bam Knight and Love, with Evan Hull on the practice squad. If Love is limited or held out Sunday, Allgeier and Knight become the immediate answer in Los Angeles - a bridge the staff has already rehearsed through the preseason while Love rehabbed.
