The Green Bay Packers are still in their first week of training camp and starting quarterback Jordan Love has yet to participate in any practices. One thing has quickly become clear: if Love isn’t on the field, the team’s offense will take a major step back.
The Packers Need to Sign Jordan Love: How We Got Here
GM Brian Gutekunst drafted the former Utah State star in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He spent three seasons learning on the sidelines while Aaron Rodgers continued to start. Love worked on his mechanics, especially his footwork and improved his ability to read defenses. Meanwhile, the relationship between Rodgers and the Packers broke down and he was traded to the Jets before the 2023 draft took place.
Love took over as the Packers starting quarterback at the start of last season. The Packers offense also featured no receiver or tight end with more than one year of NFL experience when the season began.
After a slow start, Love came on strong in the second half of the season, throwing 18 touchdown passes and just one interception in the final eight games. He also scored a near perfect quarterback rating in the Packers playoff win over the Cowboys. A week later, he nearly led the team to an upset win over the eventual NFC champion 49ers. Love showed he possessed the potential to be one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL.
The Contract Negotiations
Before the 2023 season, the Packers signed Love to an incentive-laden two-year extension. In essence, Love bet on himself and after the team’s strong finish, he won. The Packers and Love started negotiating on a long-term extension during the offseason. The deal is expected to make Love one of the highest-paid players in the NFL.
Negotiations have been described as amicable. Both sides clearly wanted to get a deal done. Love participated in all OTAs, both voluntary and mandatory. He also worked with his receivers in a voluntary camp he organized during the offseason. The deadline was supposed to be the start of training camp which was scheduled for July 22.
Unfortunately, when training camp started, the deal had yet to be finalized. Love showed up for training camp, but announced he would not participate in practices until the deal was signed. He has attended all team meetings and off-the-field activities to prepare for the new season.
The Packers Need to Sign Jordan Love: Training Camp
In the first few days of training camp, Love watched while Sean Clifford worked with the first-string offense. Rookie Michael Pratt also saw extensive action in drills. The Packers also signed Jacob Eason to help the team get through the time Love wasn’t practicing.
Unfortunately, the results in practice have not been great. Between them, Clifford and Pratt combined to throw five interceptions on Wednesday alone. Eric Stokes had a pair of interceptions while Evan Williams, Anthony Johnson Jr., and Benny Sapp had one each. There were also a pair of near picks during practice.
The early results confirmed what most scouts already believed: that the Packers offense would take a big step back without Love in the lineup.
That means there are two things Gutekunst needs to consider. The most obvious is to finalize the contract with Love and get him back to practice as soon as possible. That will allow the offense to begin preparations for the upcoming season in earnest.
The other question is whether the Packers need to consider bringing in a veteran backup. Head coach Matt LaFleur and Gutekunst need to decide whether either Clifford or Pratt will be ready to play if Love gets injured at any point in the season. If the answer is yes, they can continue as is. If the answer is no, adding a veteran backup who could salvage the season if Love got hurt would be a sound move.
The bottom line is the first few days of training camp proved how much the Packers need Love as their starting quarterback if they hope to contend. Hopefully, they reach an agreement on a new contract soon.
Follow Gil Martin on Twitter @GilPackers
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