ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals are getting Jeremiyah Love back to the practice field this week.
Love, who has missed the last two games with an ankle injury, will take the field on Wednesday as the Cardinals prepare to face the Dallas Cowboys in Week 8.
"We'll see as the week goes," head coach Mike LaFleur said at his Monday press conference. "Jeremiyah will be out there at practice on Wednesday, so we'll see how the week goes."
Love, the third overall pick, initially dealt with a different ankle injury during Arizona's preseason. However, up until Week 6, he hadn't missed a regular season game.
The rookie running back has been managing his new ankle injury for weeks before the Cardinals made the call to shelf the Notre Dame product. Arizona said injured reserve, which would require Love to miss at least four weeks, wasn't on the table.
The Cardinals dropped to 2-5 after their Week 7 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. Their backfield has been headlined by Bam Knight and Tyler Allgeier. Knight, particularly, has been strong in Love's absence.
"Bam's doing a really good job. He's running the ball well and obviously brought an explosive element to the run game that was needed," LaFleur said when asked if Knight would still have a role. "So yeah, Bam will still have a role, but I'm excited to get Jeremiyah back, particularly at practice this week."
Arizona's rushing offense ranks in the bottom ten of NFL teams for rushing yards per game (96) and average yards per carry (3.7).
There's hope Love's emergence back into the lineup can also add a new layer to the Cardinals' passing attack, where Love's route-running against linebacker matchups should be extremely advantageous for their struggling offense.
We'll get our first injury report for Week 8 after Wednesday's practice, though this is undoubtedly a massive step in the right direction for Love's return.
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