1 Question Facing Each Green Bay Packers Player: Quarterbacks

Training camp is inching its way closer and closer — finally! — as we are now just 11 days away from the Green Bay Packers taking the field for their first practice.

So between now and then, I’ll be going position by position through this Packers roster, taking a look at the one big question facing each player on this roster. And we might as well start with the quarterbacks.

Aaron Rodgers: When will he report to Green Bay Packers training camp?

You’ll notice that I said “when” and not “if,” as I do fully expect that Aaron Rodgers to be at training camp this summer and eventually the starting quarterback when Green Bay heads to New Orleans for their Week 1 matchup. But will he be there on July 27th?

Rodgers has already missed mandatory mini-camp, which came with a fine of $93,085 — that is unless Green Bay gave him an excused absence — and for every day of training camp that he misses, the team will fine him $50,000, as is noted in the CBA. If Rodgers were to miss all of training camp, his total fines — which can’t be waived — would be north of $2 million.

As I wrote about recently, former Green Bay Packers executive Andrew Brandt doesn’t see the start of training camp as a hard deadline for Rodgers and could see this saga dragging out into August. My guess is that he is there the 27th, but we will have to continue playing the waiting game, just as we’ve done all offseason.

Jordan Love: How does he look through camp and the preseason?

As is the case for any young quarterback, expectations should be that we are going to see a lot of ups and downs from Jordan Love this summer, just as we did during mini-camp, where he would struggle one day then put on a show the next. With that said, during the preseason against second and third-string opponents, I believe that we see Love find his fair share of success overall.

When on the practice field, but especially during preseason games, several important items to watch for will be his command of the offense and whether or not — or to what degree — he is given the flexibility to make changes at the line of scrimmage. Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and QB coach Luke Getsy have both emphasized Love’s footwork as well as working through his progressions.

On top of that, how comfortable does he look in the pocket? Is he looking to run at the first sign of pressure, or does he remain calm? How is his accuracy both from the pocket and on the run? These are just a few key items to keep your eyes on this summer.

Kurt Benkert: Can Kurt make his way onto the 53-man roster?

With Rodgers and Love, the Green Bay Packers could very well just keep two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, something that we’ve seen them do in recent years. But if they decide to keep three, just as they did in 2020 and 2018, then I believe that roster spot is Benkert’s for the taking.

Benkert went undrafted out of Virginia in 2018 and spent his first three seasons with Atlanta, primarily on the practice squad. During his time with the Cavaliers, Benkert posted 5,759 passing yards with 46 touchdowns to 20 interceptions and a completion rate of 57 percent over 24 games.

While most of the QB reps during mini-camp went to Love, according to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, Benkert made the most of his opportunities, saying that he “is impressing about as much as a QB3 can in mini-camp.”

Blake Bortles: How much does Bortles have left in the tank?

Bortles never quite lived up to his draft stock as a former third overall pick, but he did lead the Jacksonville Jaguars to a 10-6 season in 2017 and a trip to the AFC Championship Game, completing a career-high 60.2 percent of his passes for 3,687 yards with 21 touchdowns to 13 interceptions.

However, in 2018, Bortles would appear in only 12 games with Jacksonville going 3-9 in those starts. By 2019 he was a backup to Jared Goff in Los Angeles. While last season, he spent some time on the Denver practice squad. On this current trajectory, Bortles’ career likely is nearing its end.

During that AFC Championship run, Bortles’ offensive coordinator was Nathanial Hackett, and after spending a season in the Sean McVay offense, he should already be somewhat familiar with Matt LaFleur’s system, as there is plenty of overlap between the two schemes. We will see if this familiarity and comfortability helps rejuvenate his career.

Jake Dolegala: Can he show enough to stick around?

For the quarterbacks on this roster not named Rodgers or Love, there aren’t going to be a ton of extra reps to go around this summer—which of course, means limited opportunities for Dolegala to showcase his skills.

Green Bay had Dolegala in for a workout during mini-camp and then signed him afterward. He went undrafted in 2019 out of 1AA Central Connecticut State where he did appear in 44 games and threw for over 8,100 yards with 48 touchdowns to 29 interceptions. Dolegala made the Cincinnati 53-man roster as a rookie, but then spent 2020 on the New England practice squad.

The most likely path for Dolegala to stick is going to be on the practice squad. But that hinges on his performance as well as how many quarterbacks the Green Bay Packers want to keep on the active roster as well as on the practice squad. He will have to make the most of his limited opportunities.