Over the last few weeks, the Green Bay Packers have been hit by the injury bug. Green Bay has been hit the hardest in its wide receiver room. However, the most significant injury happened to quarterback Jordan Love. During the Packers' first preseason game against the New York Jets, Love hit his left thumb on a Jets player's helmet and injured it.
Though head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters he would be back for Week 1, there was no timetable for when he would return to practice. That said, Love made his return to practice on Monday. Unfortunately, the Packers' signal-caller had a rough first day back at practice.
According to ESPN's Rob Demovsky, "Coach Matt LaFleur even added two periods of 7-on-7, something he doesn't normally do at practice because he has said he doesn't think it's a realistic drill without any offensive or defensive linemen."
He added, "Love completed 16 of 24 passes during those two sessions. He was intercepted twice but showed perfect ball placement on a touchdown pass to rookie receiver Matthew Golden. Love delivered the pass on a corner route between two defenders." Demovsky's reporting is certainly not what Packers fans want to hear about their quarterback.
Jordan Love Struggles on His First Day Back at Practice
Packers fans have seen Love struggle after an injury before. Last year, the 26-year-old sprained his MCL in their Week 1 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. This led to him missing the next two games.
Upon his return, Love struggled to complete passes. In the two games following the injury, he completed less than 60% of his attempts and threw four interceptions. While Love bounced back in his third game, Green Bay can't have that type of play from their franchise quarterback.
Therefore, Packers fans who are worried after Love's bad return practice are slightly justified. As Demovsky mentions, LaFleur added more 7-on-7 periods in practice specifically for Love. So, the fact that he struggled is a concern.
Being inaccurate and throwing interceptions in practice typically leads to struggles during games. Even so, Monday was only Love's first practice back. Even though that performance is not what anyone wants to see, he still has time to straighten himself out before Week 1.
Green Bay opens the season on Sunday, September 7, at 3:25 PM against the Detroit Lions.