Cardinals' Jeremiyah Love makes feelings clear on playing in preseason

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Matthew Couden

By Matthew Couden

Contributing Writer

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Arizona Cardinals rookie Jeremiyah Love made his feelings clear on playing in the NFL preseason, which begins with this week's NFL Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.

That game also celebrates a legendary Cardinals player, Larry Fitzgerald, who is among the Class of 2026 inductees. Love spoke about debuting in the Hall of Fame Game and the honor that comes with it.

"I'm excited to just play in a game. It's not like an in-season game, but it's a preseason game, so I get to go out there and showcase some of my skills, so I'm excited about that," Love told reporters.

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"Also, Larry being inducted into the Hall of Fame, that's just a huge honor, you know? ... We get to celebrate one of the past teammates of the Arizona Cardinals. We get to celebrate one of our own," he said. "I'm gonna take a lot of pride in going out there and putting my best foot forward and make sure I compete."

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Arizona Cardinals rookie Jeremiyah Love at training camp

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The Cardinals have high hopes for their rookie running back, selecting him third overall in this past April's NFL Draft. Love brings a strong resume from his college seasons with Notre Dame. In 12 games last season, he racked up 1,372 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns.

In what became a season worthy of Heisman Trophy contention, Love also tallied 280 receiving yards and three touchdowns for the Fighting Irish. The Cardinals are hoping for more of the same from the rookie, since they ranked second-to-last in the NFL in rushing yards last season, averaging 93.1 per game.

SI's Albert Breer spoke with NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah and The Ringer's Todd McShay about Love before the NFL Draft, and there was talk that Love might be the best overall player available.

He was compared to Atlanta Falcons star running back Bijan Robinson and Detroit Lions back Jahmyr Gibbs, with a similar pre-draft grade to Christian McCaffrey, now a powerful back for the San Francisco 49ers.

Jeremiah said of Love that he has the unique "ability to make people miss without gearing down" and also praised him as "fluid and smooth" with "great hands" for the passing game.

Arizona will battle Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers, a team that reached the NFL Playoffs last season. As of this writing, the odds slightly favor the Cardinals to win by 1.5 points, as preseason games carry little meaning beyond testing out players from the roster.

Since there are no major stakes for winning a preseason game, it's safe to assume Love might not play all game, as the Cardinals won't want to risk him suffering an injury. Still, his comments show his eagerness to play in an NFL game and show what he can do.

The NFL Hall of Fame Game featuring the Cardinals and Panthers is at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, Aug. 6, with televised and streaming coverage on NBC and Peacock. The first official game of the regular season for the Cardinals is Sunday, Sept. 13 when they visit the Los Angeles Chargers.

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