NO, the Packers should not bench Aaron Rodgers for Jordan Love

During Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions, there was growing support on social media for the Green Bay Packers to bench Aaron Rodgers in favor or Jordan Love. That’s absolutely ridiculous.

Rodgers was having one of the worst games of his career. He threw three interceptions for the first time in half a decade, took points off the board with stupid mistakes, and underthrew three would-be touchdowns plus a few other nasty throws. It was a historically bad performance for the future Hall of Famer that reminded us all how Father Time always wins in the end.

Even with all of that being true, the Packers should not bench Rodgers in favor of Love. At least not yet.

The Green Bay Packers should not bench Aaron Rodgers for Jordan Love at this point in the season, no matter how badly the former is playing.

At 3-6, Green Bay’s playoff hopes have a whisper of a breath. They are 4.5 games behind the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North, a race they can wave goodbye to. A more realistic goal is earning the final wild card spot–they are 1.5 games behind the San Francisco 49ers at this point. That seems doable, except then we remember Green Bay has lost five straight, including games against the Lions, New York squads and the Washington Commanders. They now have the tough part of their schedule coming up.

If the Packers are serious about turning their season around, Rodgers is the guy to lead them.

Despite his terrible start to the season, he’s still clearly the best quarterback the Packers have. He commands respect from his teammates (even if some in the media disagree), he reads defenses and he has the experience to get this team over the hump. I’m not saying they will turn their season around, but it’s clear he gives them the best chance to do so.

Green Bay has had a stable quarterback situation for three decades. Once they make the move from Rodgers to Love, it needs to be a one-time deal. No wishy-washy going back and forth on which quarterback should start. We’ll leave that to the Chicago Bears of the NFL.

There will come a time, likely sooner than later at this rate, where the transition from Rodgers to Love will need to happen. The earliest the Packers should realistically consider that decision, however, is when they are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention this season. And even then, they should be clear it’s only until the end of the season and it will be re-evaluated heading into next season. Setting clear parameters is key.

For now, they should ride with Rodgers. For better or worse. He’s their back-to-back MVP (he didn’t just lose all of that skill over one offseason), future Hall of Famer and lockerroom leader. Ride his coattails to glory or gloom.