Jeremiyah Love's High Ankle Sprain Opens the Door for James Conner
The Cardinals hope Love returns in four weeks for Week 1 at the Chargers, but the high sprain diagnosis makes James Conner the backfield to own.
Love's high ankle sprain hands Conner the early-season workload.
- Love diagnosed with a high ankle sprain, per ESPN
- Cardinals hope for a Week 1 return vs. Chargers
- High sprains typically take longer to heal
- Arizona signed RB Montrell Stewart on Saturday
- Conner logged 33 PPR pts in just 3 games in 2025
Jeremiyah Love's ankle injury just got a clearer — and more concerning — label. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports it's a high ankle sprain, and Arizona is hoping the rookie can return within four weeks in time for the Week 1 opener at the Chargers. That's the optimistic version of the timeline, and it's worth stressing the word hope.
High sprains are the kind that don't respect a calendar. Head coach Mike LaFleur wouldn't confirm earlier in the day whether the injury was low or high — and now we know why he hedged. A high ankle sprain tends to linger longer than a standard rollup, so even a Week 1 target feels shaky for a first-year back.
What Arizona's Doing About It
The Cardinals aren't sitting still. On Saturday they worked out three running backs — Montrell Stewart, Blake Watson and Tre Stewart — and came away signing Montrell Stewart. That's a depth move, not a headline move, but it tells you the team wants insurance behind their top options.
The names that actually matter for your roster are already in the building: veteran James Conner and free-agent addition Tyler Allgeier. With Love potentially unavailable to open the year, Conner is the obvious lead back, and Allgeier becomes a real handcuff worth stashing.
The Fantasy Fallout
Conner is currently unranked in our model, which makes him exactly the kind of quiet value you want to grab before the market catches up. He was efficient in a tiny 2025 sample — 95 rushing yards and a score plus 38 receiving yards and another TD across just three games, good for 33 PPR points in that stretch. Extrapolate that role across a full early-season workload and the appeal is obvious.
The move: buy Conner now while the diagnosis is fresh and drafters are distracted by Love. Grab Allgeier late as a lottery ticket, and treat Love as a redshirt stash if he slides in your draft — a high ankle sprain three-plus weeks out is not something you build a Week 1 lineup around.
