Packers: Jordan Love w/ 1 More Year to Prepare Before Likely Taking Over

At least for the time being, everything is somewhat back to normal in Green Bay, Wisconsin. On a reworked deal with several “concessions,” Aaron Rodgers is back with the Green Bay Packers for the 2021 season. After that, well, we will have to see, but this is likely Rodgers’ final year with the team.

A few of the concessions that we know about are that the 2023 season was voided on Rodgers’ current deal, making 2022 the last year of his contract. The two parties will also reconvene once the season is over to take inventory of where each is at. And while that sounds nice, the most likely ending is that Rodgers is traded next offseason.

Based on reports, Rodgers had no intention of showing up to training camp, but this last-minute deal saved the day. It’s hard to envision his stance on the organization changing over the next six months, but I suppose anything is possible. For the Packers, if they don’t trade Rodgers in 2022, he will leave as a free agent in 2023, and they get nothing in return.

Perhaps lost in all of this offseason drama was what the future held for Jordan Love, who, not by choice, was thrown into the middle of this fiasco. But now, for the first time, we have some clarity on what his future could hold.

Again, anything is possible, but it would appear that Love will have one more year as the backup before taking over as QB1 of the Green Bay Packers in 2022.

The big question surrounding Love right now is where is he at in his development? We knew coming out of Utah State that he had the arm talent, athleticism, and size to be a successful NFL quarterback, but his game needed refinement, and his decision-making had to improve.

Since becoming a Green Bay Packer, we’ve seen very little of him on the field due to COVID-19 restrictions during his rookie season. There were fewer in-person offseason practices, no access for fans at training camp, and no preseason games for Love to participate in.

He was also the third quarterback on the roster, which came with limited reps in-season, as a majority went to Rodgers, and then to Tim Boyle. Several of these uncontrollable and unforeseen circumstances played a role in potentially slowing Love’s development, but to what degree, we don’t know.

But the good news for both him and the Green Bay Packers is that he will have another season to learn, develop, and to refine his skill-set, this time as a backup with more reps and responsibilities.

During the spring, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett discussed how important actual practice time for Love was going to be this summer—and so far, he’s seen plenty of it. With Rodgers absent from OTAs and mini-camp, Love took a majority of the quarterback snaps—which was greatly needed.

"“Even just being able to get out there and practice — I mean, that’s huge,” said Hackett via Pro Football Talk. “So I think for him, it’s just growing more in the offensive system, even more than he already has. Just making it his own. … Obviously, we’re very excited if we can be able to practice because I think that’s something he needs.”"

As was to be expected, Love would have mixed results during the three-day mini-camp, struggling the first day and relying heavily on check-downs while airing it out on Day 2 with tight ends coach Justin Outten fanning Love because he was on fire.

With a young player like Love, you can’t get too high or too low, as Matt LaFleur told us—these ups and downs are going to happen. For quarterbacks coach Luke Getsy, more so than the end result at this point, he wants to see Love playing with his eyes and his feet and that he is going through his progressions. If that results in more check downs, then so be it—it’s process over results right now.

"“The main goal for me right now is that he just progresses properly, that he plays with his eyes and his feet,” said Getsy via Packers.com. “If his eyes and his feet tell him to move in his progression, I want him to move in his progression. So if defense is taking something away, we need to progress. I don’t want him to think he needs to force something down the field.”"

Given how adamant the Green Bay Packers were about not moving on from Rodgers, that likely tells us that they don’t think Love is ready to be a starter in 2021—and again, that really shouldn’t come as a surprise. Now he will have a “normal” offseason of practices with more reps, action in preseason games, and another year to absorb LaFleur’s offense while learning from one of the game’s greats.

This is really an ideal scenario for both Love and the Green Bay Packers.

"“One of the bigger things with Jordan right now is his confidence in the system,” Hackett told reporters via Packers.com. “Instead of trying to learn the verbiage and just understand how to call the plays, he can do that much easier now and then be able to go out there and execute them. That’s something we’ve been able to see, so now we can talk about the techniques and the reads and those intricate details that we want to get to him. Timing and accuracy and all those things have definitely been better up to this point“"

When the preseason begins, all eyes will be on Love, and understandably so, but expectations should be tempered. While we of course hope that we see progress and some of that playmaking ability, we will also see some blunders as well—the ups and downs from mini-camp were likely just a glimpse into the preseason, but remember, it’s not like he has to start Week 1 either.

As I’ve already said, it’s process over results for Jordan Love, especially since the Green Bay Packers have the luxury of developing him for another year.

How much autonomy does he have pre-snap? Does he keep his eyes downfield? How is his footwork? Does he panic when he feels pressure? How is his accuracy both from the pocket and on the move? All of this and more should have your attention when he takes the field in August for his first NFL snaps.