There's no need to sugarcoat it. Despite showing occasional feistiness, Mike LaFleur's rebuilding 1-3 Arizona Cardinals are, well, a rebuilding team. And rebuilding teams tend to be rather bad and occasionally very disappointing. That's to be expected. Even a Week 1 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers is not as impressive anymore, given what we know about how awful the Chargers really are.
But just because the Cardinals are struggling doesn't mean their young core players, like rookie first-round pick Jeremiyah Love, are upset. Turning into a relevant team is a process. It takes time. You can't lose indefinitely. Eventually, you have to show progress to prevent your players from breaking. But the Cardinals are nowhere near that point yet. Not
even close.
That's why it's important to note what Love meant when he called the 2026 NFL season "the longest year" of his life after the Cardinals' 36-24 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday. He was not saying he was unhappy with the Cardinals or their current three-game losing streak. He was talking about managing a taxing workload with many touches on offense over an extended 17-game season for the first time in his life as an elite football player.
Love is the Cardinals' bell cow tailback who is getting used to those responsibilities at the highest level of football. Of course he would feel this way. It's understandable. To be clear, he wasn't even visibly upset about this dynamic, either! He was simply explaining himself and trying to give more insight into his personal experience as a star rookie.
Nothing more.
“This is probably gonna be the longest year of my life.”
— PHNX Cardinals (@PHNX_Cardinals) October 4, 2026
Jeremiyah Love 😳 pic.twitter.com/vllDlh6xz3
We don't need to turn quotes into something they aren't. There is no controversy brewing over a talented young player being disgruntled in Arizona. At least not yet. That could always happen. For now, let the Cardinals rebuild in peace.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: No, Jeremiyah Love's 'longest year' quote wasn't about hating time with Cardinals
