With the months-old Packers-Aaron Rodgers stalemate looking set to drag into training camp, the team is in a holding pattern at quarterback. The longer this goes, the more relevant Jordan Love‘s readiness becomes.
Coming into the offseason, the Packers’ confidence appeared low in the 2020 first-round pick being prepared to make starts this season. That view seems to have changed, to some degree. Love made progress after handling a busy workload this offseason, Albert Breer of SI.com notes, with the second-year passer making particular strides with his footwork.
The Utah State alum took approximately 90% of the reps in the Packers’ offseason team drills, per Breer. GM Brian Gutekunst indicated the Packers planned to flood their highly drafted backup with work this year, after the COVID-19 pandemic nixed the 2020 offseason program and Love spent the season as Green Bay’s third-string quarterback.
The Packers’ signings of Blake Bortles, Kurt Benkert and Jacob Dolegala do not appear to have affected Love’s reps this offseason. The younger additions stand to serve as training camp arms — in the likely event Rodgers does not show next month — while Bortles would make sense as insurance if Love will not be ready to go in Week 1. For his part, Love expectedly expressed confidence he would be ready to make a Week 1 start.
It goes without saying the Packers want Rodgers to be their starter this season. That happening after Love went through a QB1 offseason would be a bonus for the Packers, for short- and long-term purposes, but nothing has emerged indicating Rodgers will suit up for the team again. If this scenario were to take place, with Rodgers starting every game for the 2021 Green Bay edition, Love would become the first Round 1 quarterback since Rodgers to spend his first two full NFL seasons on the bench. Beyond Rodgers, Brady Quinn‘s three starts from 2007-08 serve as the current basement for a first-round QB through two years in that span.
More must-reads: