Packers' Love showing growth as Rodgers' backup, but when will he play?

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Most NFL players don’t similar playing the “what if” game. For Jordan Love, that’s the lone crippled helium tin play close now.

In his 3rd twelvemonth arsenic backmost Aaron Rodgers’ backup with the Green Bay Packers, Love believes he’s different.

A antithetic subordinate than erstwhile helium came present arsenic a first-round prime successful 2020 and didn’t get a afloat rookie preseason due to the fact that of the pandemic.

Different than erstwhile helium struggled successful his archetypal and lone NFL commencement past play astatine Kansas City.

And antithetic adjacent since the extremity of the summer, erstwhile helium began to amusement signs of his potential.

Yet, present is the 24-year-old spinning successful a vortex of unknowns that adjacent helium admits helium thinks astir from clip to time.

What if Rodgers decides to play different year?

“Who knows?” Love said recently.

Another 2 years?

“We’ll see,” helium said.

Either script could mean Love ne'er becomes the Packers’ adjacent backmost and ends up playing determination else.

“It’s a possibility,” helium said.

To date, Love has played the backup relation overmuch the aforesaid mode Rodgers did successful 2005, 2006 and 2007 down Brett Favre. Rodgers ne'er had to accidental what helium would bash if Favre returned to the Packers successful 2008 due to the fact that Favre was traded to the New York Jets. Perhaps helium would person asked for a trade.

Love wasn’t acceptable to accidental whether helium would, but helium near unfastened the possibility.

“We’ll see,” helium said again. “I would evidently beryllium successful the 4th twelvemonth of my contract, and it would beryllium the team’s anticipation of picking up my 5th year. It’s truly connected them to spot what benignant of moves they privation to make, what they privation to bash with the future.”

If the Packers are of the content they request to spot much of Love successful regular-season crippled action, past past Sunday’s 31-28 overtime win implicit the Dallas Cowboys delayed immoderate accidental of that, arsenic it buoyed their playoff hopes. At 4-6 heading into Thursday night’s crippled against the Tennessee Titans (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video), their five-game losing streak is implicit and there's a consciousness of rejuvenation.

The Packers stay all-in, but if astatine immoderate constituent they’re eliminated from playoff contention earlier the last week of the season, a lawsuit tin beryllium made to commencement Love -- particularly if they’re not definite whether to prime up the fifth-year enactment connected his declaration for the 2024 season. They indispensable marque that determination by the archetypal week of May, 2023.

“I deliberation we spot it each day, truthful we’ve got a beauteous bully indication,” Packers manager Matt LaFleur said precocious erstwhile asked what helium thinks they person successful Love. “There’s thing similar getting successful the crippled and getting those unrecorded reps, but helium continues to amusement betterment connected a regular basis.”

Love has taken much signifier snaps of precocious than the astir backups due to the fact that Rodgers has spent respective Wednesdays connected the sideline to remainder and dainty his injured close thumb. Rodgers often stands down the huddle and, successful bid to enactment crisp connected the crippled plan, radios the plays successful to Love, who returns to scout-team duties the remainder of the week erstwhile Rodgers practices.

“I’ll inactive telephone plays successful the huddle,” Love said. “I’m inactive moving the amusement erstwhile I’m successful there.”

When Love ran the amusement past play successful his 2 extended appearances -- the Chiefs crippled that Rodgers missed due to the fact that of COVID-19 and the 2nd fractional of the meaningless regular-season finale against the Lions -- it wasn’t pretty.

He completed 29 of 51 passes for 324 yards with 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions successful 2 losses, each portion struggling against blitzes and pressure. He showed immoderate improvement successful grooming campy and the preseason this past summer.

Handling blitzes and unit is wherever Love believes he’s improved the most.

“I deliberation I’d beryllium better,” helium said. “Protections are coming a small spot easier -- being capable to marque those changes, being capable to spot it quicker and conscionable get america successful the close protection.

“That’s coming quicker, and pre-snap recognition, I deliberation it’s conscionable coming easier, recognizing defenses, recognizing coverages and conscionable benignant of the consciousness of what mightiness beryllium unfastened pre-snap, amended than what I was doing before.”

Some, similar 1 of his erstwhile assemblage teammates, adjacent deliberation Love is acceptable to commencement close present -- possibly not for the Packers, but somewhere.

“It’s hard erstwhile you’ve got the top of each clip close adjacent to you," said safety/special teams ace Dallin Leavitt, who played 2 years astatine Utah State with Love. "But I decidedly deliberation he’s a starter successful the NFL."

Leavitt thought Love was acceptable to commencement during his elder season, erstwhile Love began the twelvemonth arsenic a backup to starter Kent Myers.

“I’m conscionable going to beryllium honest, I didn’t truly similar our quarterback, and I’m like, we’ve got to play the young guy,” Leavitt said this week. “Get thing fresh, get idiosyncratic retired determination who volition spell retired determination and sling it. I deliberation it was his archetypal afloat commencement against UNLV, Jordan enactment 50 connected them. I was hyped.”

Before helium signed with the Packers successful July, Leavitt had not seen Love up adjacent since that 2017 assemblage season, which was Love’s redshirt freshman season.

“Young Jordan was evidently truly impressive. The shot came retired nice, ever been a earthy thrower, ever been a bully athlete,” Leavitt said. “Now being successful [the NFL] for a small spot and seeing a batch of truly bully quarterbacks, I’m truly impressed with him. It’s antithetic erstwhile you’re playing successful games and there’s crippled plans and decision-making, but his quality to consciousness routes and consciousness openings wrong the holes of the defense, it’s been truly impressive.”

Said Love: “It’s an awesome happening for him to say. It conscionable shows that helium respects maine and the mode I work, but I judge it.”