I thought this would be done by now.
The experts and beat reporters seemed to think it would be done by now.
With each additional day, Jordan Love not practicing becomes a smidge more distracting.
Understandable
If I were Jordan Love, his agent, fiancée, friends or family I’d be doing or advising the same thing. When your 25 and on the precipice of a life altering contract, you have to make sure nothing goes awry. Career altering or ending injuries do happen, even to quarterbacks. Ask Teddy Bridgewater or Alex Smith.
Yes, he still has a lot to prove. No, he hasn’t taken his team to the Super Bowl–thus far. His stellar play in the second half of the year could be a mirage. He could regress to average, or not live up to a franchise QB contract. We don’t know.
We do know the NFL is a quarterback driven league. Maybe half of teams feel “set” or hopeful about their QB. The other half of the league wanders the desert, biding their time with the Gardner Minshew’s or the Daniel Jones of the NFL. I promise you, fans of the Raiders, Giants and 15 other teams would love to have the distraction of a Jordan Love “hold-in. Jordan Love and his representatives know this, and know they have to use their leverage now.
Also understandable
This is not a problem. This is a challenge.
Brian Gutekunst is as thrilled as anyone that he’s drafted a franchise quarterback of the present and future. It’s not a question of “if” they will sign him, it’s a question of when and for how much. Gutey and Love also both understand that franchise QB contracts take up 20-25% of the salary cap. This fact makes assembling and deciding who to pay on the rest of the roster a high wire act to keep the team a winner.
Next year, Packers leadership will have to decide how much to pay to keep stars like Zach Tom, Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Devonte Wyatt. The year after that will come decisions on Jayden Reed, Luke Musgrave, Lukas Van Ness, Dontavion Wicks and others. These are not problems, these are great challenges.
Push-Pull
Love being at camp and interacting with teammates and coaches means he’s trying to do things right. The talent and hope that Jordan Love means for the Packers success is hard, if not impossible, to replace. You might say he’s priceless that way. They need to find the right price sooner than later.