When Tyler Allgeier left the Atlanta Falcons for the Arizona Cardinals this offseason, a rollercoaster of emotions followed. At first, it looked like the perfect place for him to get out of Bijan Robinson's shadow and establish himself as a quality RB1, and those hopes last a month before being torched.
Despite signing Allgeier to a two-year, $12.25 million deal at the start of free agency, it didn't deter the Cardinals from adding to the running back room. They drafted Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love with the third overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, relegating him back to the role he left Atlanta to escape.
So when that happened, his new team looked like they were primed to send him to the bench--but that hasn't happened. After the Cardinals kicked off training camp this weekend, desert life hasn't been nearly as bad for Allgeier as expected, as he's still played a key role in the RB room.
Tyler Allgeier is going to have a legit role within the Cardinals' offense
In the Cardinals' first open practice of the summer, the 26-year-old took the first series with the first-team offense, while their prized rookie spent time with Carson Beck and the second-team offense, while Love joined the starters later in practice during their third series-- a trend that's been constant.
The same thing happened in Sunday's practice session. Love and Allgeier traded off series with the first-team offense, but once again, the latter took the opening series. And while it appears the Cardinals will have a frustrating running back-by-committee rotation, Tyler Allgeier is the current RB1.
And when OC Nathaniel Hackett addressed the media after practice, he further outlined the murkiness within this RB room. When asked about Love, he said "he's definitely a rookie". What a note of confidence from a guy who is known to be one of the worst play-callers the NFL has seen of late, but it bodes well for Allgeier.
Everything right now sounds like the fifth-year back from BYU will continue to get first-team reps as training camp progresses. And that means despite the Cardinals using a top-three pick on one of the best RB prospects in recent memory and making him the highest-paid rookie RB in NFL history, they plan to get the most out of their $12 million man instead of considering a trade.
While this could be a tactical decision from Hackett and Mike LaFleur to keep Love's legs fresh for the regular season, I would still expect him to play a key role in Arizona. The NFL isn't a league where you need an elite feature back anymore, multiple running backs can spearhead a strong run game now.
It's hard to argue that Tyler Allgeier would have had a more concrete role in Atlanta, but his early role in Cardinals training camp proves they still have big plans for him. So in turn, this decision is starting to look a lot less bad.
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