For first-year players, a 17-game season means eventually hitting the so-called rookie wall. Cardinals running back Jeremiyah Love is preparing for that reality.

His postgame comments from Sunday suggest it has possibly already happened.

Love tiptoed around the question of whether the ankle he sprained in the preseason is still bothering him. On multiple occasions during his session with reporters after the 36-24 loss to the Giants, Love said it isn’t. Still, his full remarks (which lasted less than five minutes) oozed with the idea that he’s already worn down after only four regular-season games.

“Not really bothering me,” he said when asked about the ankle, “kind of just a managing because, you know, we got a long season. Coaches don’t want to overload me, so not necessarily, like, bothering me to the point where I can’t play, because I can go out there and play regardless of whether it’s bothering me, like, I gotta go out there and put something on my opportunity to put us in the best position to have success, but it . . . it was all right. It was all right.”

While he understands the importance of pacing himself, he doesn’t like having his workload managed.

“It’s frustrating because, you know, I’m the type of guy that’s going to, you know, do anything for my team to have success,” Love said. “Like, so I’m gonna be out there despite, you know, how I’m feeling, but my coaches care about me. They care about everybody on this team. So they’re not gonna put you out there if you’re not in the best position to go out there and, you know, do what you need to do and be yourself.

“So it’s frustrating for me personally. I’m not frustrated with the coaches. I’m really frustrated with myself because, you know, like, I just want to be good. I want to be 100 percent, you know, and I want to go out there and do what I need to do. I’m not saying I’m not 100 percent, but, like, I’m not where I want to be. Like, I’m not able to go out there and do spectacular plays every single time, or do stuff like that. So I’m just frustrated with myself, not with the coaches, but they’re doing a great job of managing me.”

Is it because of the ankle?

“No, it’s not really just my ankle,” Love said. “It’s more of just the whole thing. It’s been a long year for me. Like, [my] body sometimes is down. Somebody [is] sometimes tired. So, like, it’s just managing those things. Like, coaches know that. Like, this is probably gonna be the longest year of my life. You know, and I just want to manage that workload. So today, you know, just obviously making sure to keep an eye on me, managing me. But I didn’t go out there and hurt anything or anything like that. It’s just, you know, they’re doing what they need to do to keep me up so that I can finish the season.”

That included playing only 11 snaps in the second half and not being on the field in crunch time. Instead, Tyler Allgeier was in the backfield.

“Then again, like I say, like they even put people in the best position have success,” Love said. “You know, me going out there, um, feeling like how I feel, like, you know, I would probably just hamper the team if I’m going out there and I’m not feeling like myself. So why not put somebody else out there? It’s, you know, that’s playing at a better, just physical, like, physically they’re playing better. And I accept that, you know. Like, I’m not gonna go out there and I’m honest with my coaches. Like, they asked me, ‘Can you go out there and do this, do this, and that?’ And I’d be like, ‘I feel pretty good, but I think Tyler can, or Bam [Knight] can do — can exert themselves a little bit more. So that’s kind of, you know, how it is. Like I said, my coaches care about me. I’m not hurt or anything like that. It’s really just managing me.”

Love had 30 snaps on Sunday. Allgeier had 36. Love finished with 14 carries for 62 yards; Allgeier had eight for 42.

Whatever the reason, Love isn’t consistently where he’d like to be. It seems that the ankle is still something of an issue, even if he insists it isn’t.

Officially, it’s not the ankle. Although Love was limited throughout the practice week before the regular-season opener against the Chargers, Love has not appeared on the injury report since then.