Jeremiyah Love returning kicks? Cardinals’ Mike LaFleur leaving door open
Cardinals RB Jeremiyah Love has just three college kick returns under his belt, but that isn't stopping head coach Mike LaFleur from experimenting.
Watch: Tyler Allgeier surprising reaction to the Cardinals drafting another running back | 7 mins
Arizona Cardinals rookie running back Jeremiyah Love was all over the practice fields during Day 1 of organized team activities.
As expected, he ran the rock and caught his fair share of passes during the open portion. But it was his work as a return man that had a lot of eyebrows raised. Yes, it’s still early in the ramp-up toward training camp and the regular season, but it was a surprise development.
And although Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur fully acknowledged Love as a running back first and foremost, he didn’t shut the door on utilizing the offensive weapon in the return game.
“You’re experimenting with everyone in terms of a lot of different spots. … Jeremiyah is a running back. We know that. But you never know,” LaFleur told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo on Tuesday.
“That’s an extremely important play right now that the league has brought back over the years. It’s probably only going to get more of an uptick. … There might be a time and place situationally that it’s the best thing to do for the Arizona Cardinals.”
At Notre Dame, Love had three career returns to his name in his first two seasons combined. He averaged 14 yards per return.
Two of those returns came as a freshman against Duke in 2023.
How wise would kick return reps be for Cardinals’ Jeremiyah Love?
Given his playmaking abilities, a crowded Cardinals running backs room and the trajectory of where kickoffs are headed, working in Love here and there isn’t the craziest of ideas.
But anything beyond that makes little sense. There’s only so much tread on a running back’s tires and wasting some of it on special teams, especially when paying the price tag for Love, is a tough sell.
The Cardinals also have a legit return option in Devin Duvernay, who has 179 punt and kick returns to his name, to lead that side of the football.
Having Love versed in the return game isn’t a bad option to have in a pinch or on a case-by-case basis. After all, fellow No. 3 overall pick Larry Fitzgerald was used on special teams as a rookie. Running back David Johnson had his fair share of return reps, too, though he wasn’t a first-round pick making the most guaranteed money in the league as a rookie.
When it comes to Love and the return game, “sparingly” is the word.
Related
Jeremiyah Love determined to give Cardinals a return on their investment
Cardinals OTAs takeaways: Jacoby Brissett not only notable absence
Jeremiyah Love signs fully guaranteed, 4-year rookie contract with Cardinals
Jacoby Brissett playing dangerous game with Cardinals OTAs absence
Top takeaways from Cardinals' 2026 NFL schedule
Cardinals place P.J. Mustipher on IR, sign Brodric Martin
Comments
2 Comments
Risk your $53M number 3 pick on kick returns? Insanity.
This organization is every bit as dumb as the Ishbia-led Suns.
Perhaps moreso. As the guy below says, your $53M star RB should, in fact, NOT be returning kicks. You could poll the last 100 GMs to be fired in the NFL and 100 of them would agree. So would the ones that haven't been fired. Only here in the desert are we fortunate enough to have someone who thinks he's smarter than everyone else in this way. 😥 No wonder we wasted pick #64 on a career backup QB.
Totally against this idea. There's a reason the kickoff team is known as the Suicide Squad. Every day Tyler Drake confirms just how little football knowledge he has. No doubt there were numerous girls in his 8th grade class who were picked ahead of him for teams.