Sometimes the wait is worth it. That’s the case for Jordan Love. After sitting behind Aaron Rodgers for three seasons, Love took over as the Green Bay Packers starting quarterback in 2023 and delivered a stellar season.
After sputtering to a 3-6 start, Love rebounded with 18 touchdown passes to just one interception in the Packers final eight regular season games. In the playoffs, Love rose to the moment by throwing for 272 yards and three touchdowns in the Packers’ 48-32 Wild Card win at the Dallas Cowboys. He was solid the next week in a close loss at the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round.
The Packers are fully invested in Love, giving him a massive four-year, $220 million contract extension just after Training Camp got underway. Love played in the Packers’ preseason opener last week at Cleveland and threw a 65-yard touchdown on Green Bay’s third play from scrimmage.
Latest on What We Know About Jordan Love’s Status Against Denver
Love, along with most of the Packers starters, are not expected to play tonight at Denver. This comes after a joint practice between the Packers and the Broncos on Friday, highlighted by a scuffle between the two teams.
Love’s arm was hit by Broncos outside linebacker Nik Bonitto, resulting in an interception returned for a touchdown. The quarterback, though, is off-limits during practice. He cannot be hit. That’s why Bonitto hitting Love’s arm caused a scuffle between the two teams. No punches were thrown, though.
Getting Love through the preseason healthy is priority No. 1 for the Packers. His touchdown pass last week offers a lot of hope that Love is not going to regress in his second full season as the Packers starting quarterback. That touchdown pass, in the snaps he did play last week, could be enough to knock off any rust Love had coming into the season.
In addition, last year showed how valuable quarterbacks really are to their teams. Sixty-six different quarterbacks started at least one game in 2023, showing how important it is for starting quarterbacks to stay healthy.
The Packers have been fortunate to have healthy quarterback play for over 30 seasons. Love has the potential to be the next great quarterback to follow Rodgers and Brett Favre. Resting him and the rest of the starters tonight will help ensure they are healthy entering their Week 1 game against the Eagles in Brazil.
Love has just one drive under his belt this preseason. The Packers have this game tonight at Denver before their preseason finale at home against the Ravens on Aug. 24. It remains to be seen if Love will get any snaps in that game.
The Packers and Ravens will also have a joint practice next week in Green Bay. Love should participate in that after participating in this week’s joint practice against Denver.
But the Packers’ goal this preseason is simple: They need to protect their $220 million investment. That’s why Love, along with most of the other starters, is not expected to play tonight at Denver.
