Bengals players praise Packers' Jordan Love amid joint practices

Cincinnati Bengals players walked away from joint practices with the Green Bay Packers impressed with Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love, the replacement for future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers. 

"I thought he was solid, to be honest," Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt said about Love, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN. "I didn’t really know what to expect because I was always thinking of A-Rod, but I think he’s solid. He did some great things to me." 

Love, a 2020 first-round draft pick, has the unenviable task of taking the place of a living legend atop Green Bay's depth chart after the organization officially traded Rodgers to the New York Jets in April. Thus far, the 24-year-old has made just one career regular-season start and attempted 83 passes in games that mattered. 

With that said, Love did enough during midweek sessions for individuals such as Pratt to say the fourth-year pro will "be a great player" starting with the Week 1 contest at the division-rival Chicago Bears on Sept. 10. 

"I can’t tell you if he can throw the ball or any of that stuff," Cincinnati defensive tackle DJ Reader said about Love. "I thought he did a good job making his checks, going through his reads, kind of seeing what we were in and thinking about it, taking his time. It didn’t seem like a panic back there. Even his 'can' calls [when he changes the play], he knew what he was going to do. It was good." 

Earlier this spring, Love signed a one-year contract extension that essentially replaced the fifth-year option attached to his rookie contract but that also doesn't guarantee he'll be Green Bay's starter in September 2024. Pratt suggested Love is heading in the right direction by following in Rodgers' footsteps as it pertains to handling business at the line of scrimmage. 

"When he comes to the line making checks, he’s similar," Pratt said about comparing Love to Rodgers. "You being with a Hall of Fame quarterback, why not steal some of his game? I would do that. If there’s a Hall of Famer, I’m going to steal some of his game and apply it to mine." 

Physically speaking, Rodgers may be the most talented person to ever play the position at the highest level. Love likely can't match all of Rodgers' attributes, but the young signal-caller can, and seemingly has, put in the work to prevent avoidable mistakes from torpedoing his confidence early into his tenure as Green Bay's new QB1.