The Arizona Cardinals begin the new chapter with Mike LaFleur as the head coach with a showdown against Jim Harbaugh’s Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1.
The biggest question mark for Arizona has been rookie running back Jeremiyah Love, who was selected at No. 3 overall after a stellar career at Notre Dame.
Love suffered a high-ankle sprain in his preseason debut, and the hope is that he will be ready for Week 1.
On Friday, a couple of key updates surfaced regarding Love.
Updates emerge regarding Cardinals’ Jeremiyah Love
First, ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss reported that the “expectation” is that Love will play in the opener
A source told me the expectation is that Jeremiyah Love will play Sunday against the Chargers.
— Josh Weinfuss (@joshweinfuss) September 11, 2026
Just a couple of hours later, LaFleur said it is “fair” to say that Love will be a true game-time decision on Sunday, although the Cardinals coach said Love is “trending well,” via Darren Urban.
G Isaiah Adams, CB Garrett Williams and S Rabbit Taylor-Demerson will not be active Sunday.
LaFleur said it was fair to say Jeremiyah Love will be gameday decision.
— Darren Urban (@Cardschatter) September 11, 2026
Love is expected to be a workhorse for the Cardinals, although Tyler Allgeier will likely see a lot of carries for the Arizona offense.
Some even predict Love will be the favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year, and that could be the case if he shows any of the talent he showed during his days at Notre Dame.
Love’s status likely won’t be finalized until right before the game on Sunday, but based on the most recent reporting, it seems highly likely that the Cardinals rookie suits up for the first game of the season.
Matt Wadleigh is based in California and born and raised in the San Diego area. He studied print journalism at Fresno State for college and got to watch Paul George, Derek Carr and Davante Adams play in a Bulldogs uniform. His work has been featured at ClutchPoints, Sportscasting, Sporting News, and various USA Today sites, including UCLA Wire, where he was the first managing editor