Aaron Rodgers wants to play but injury and Packers’ loss creates transition to Jordan Love

Another loss for the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night, their eighth of the season, coupled with another injury to Aaron Rodgers, could lead to a transition to Jordan Love for the remainder of the season.

The Packers are still not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, but many came to grips with the reality a few weeks ago that this team simply isn’t good enough to make a run. So at that point, the question became, would Green Bay then sit Rodgers to get an extended look at Love?

Admittedly, I didn’t think this would happen. If Rodgers is going to return to the Packers in 2023, which of all outcomes is the most likely given his contract, there is still a lot of value in him getting live reps with his rookie receivers as they build towards next season. I also didn’t think Rodgers would welcome Love starting over him — even if he was placed on IR — and that Matt LaFleur wouldn’t push for it without the MVP’s blessing.

However, circumstances have since changed. We learned on Sunday morning from Ian Rapoport that Rodgers’ thumb injury is much more serious than originally thought and is an issue that often does require surgery–although after the game, Rodgers again downplayed the seriousness of the injury. Then against Philadelphia, Rodgers left the game in the second half with a rib injury, and the severity of it at this time is unknown.

So with the Packers all but eliminated from the playoffs and Rodgers dealing with a pair of injuries, if there was ever a time to transition to Love, this is it.

Love saw action earlier this season against Minnesota and the New York Jets when the games were already out of hand, but this was his first truly meaningful snaps with the game still within reach.

Although this was still a relatively small sample size of only nine pass attempts, Love looked confident both in the pocket and out, going through his progressions and extending plays. There was zero hesitancy as he was letting it rip all over the field, and he delivered some well-thrown balls as a result.

Overall, Love’s performance was very encouraging as he completed six of nine passes for 113 yards, including a 63-yard touchdown to Christian Watson.

"“I’m not shocked, to be honest with you, that he went out there and played well and showed great poise,” said LaFleur after the game. “We see it on a daily basis in practice. People might not necessarily agree with that, but I see it every day. I think he’s a guy that continued to get better and better each day in practice and does a great job against our defense, giving them really tough looks.”"

Love will enter the final year of his rookie contract in 2023, and with that, the Green Bay Packers have an important decision to make in the offseason regarding whether or not they want to pick up his fifth-year option for 2024–a deal that will be fully guaranteed and around $20 million.

The Packers likely have a decent idea of who Love is as a quarterback at this point after watching him in practice for nearly three years. But with that said, there is no substitute for live reps in games that matter and with a big decision like this, a team should want as many data points as possible to consider.

After the game, LaFleur said that if Rodgers can play, he expects him to be out there. Rodgers also said that as long as everything checks out well on Monday with his ribs, he expects to play next Sunday against Chicago and wants to continue playing as long as Green Bay is still mathematically in the playoff hunt. However, Rodgers would also add that he is “open” to having conversations — presumably about Love starting — once the Packers are eliminated.

These responses from LaFleur and Rodgers are to be expected and, in all likelihood, this is the route the Packers will go as long as Rodgers can play. There is certainly no questioning Rodgers’ toughness or competitive spirit, but also true is that this has become a lost season with little to gain at this point, and the Packers need to get a better idea of what they have in Love.

Given how the Eagles game played out with another loss and another injury to Rodgers, if the Packers truly want to transition to Love for the remainder of 2022, the time is now.

As already mentioned, Rodgers being a Packer in 2023 may be the most likely option as of now, but it’s not the only one. If Green Bay is willing to take on a large dead cap hit, they can get out of the deal via trade if needed, or there could still be the possibility that Rodgers decides to retire. Regardless, the Packers have to be prepared for either scenario.

Even with where the Packers are at this season, this won’t be an easy discussion to have, but placing Rodgers on IR and giving Love a few games to prove himself is the prudent long-term move for the organization right now as they are staring down his fifth-year option—not to mention that time off to heal may not be a bad thing for Rodgers.