Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love was set for a prolonged spell out with a sprained MCL suffered during his side’s NFL season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, which took place in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The Eagles ran out 34-29 victors in the game, with Love limping out late on with Malik Willis finishing the game. The Packers are hoping the layoff will be three to four weeks, with surgery apparently not required.
The Packers beat the Colts on Sunday with Willis at the helm keeping them afloat with Love potentially returning soon.
25-year-old Love had to wait his turn behind Aaron Rodgers for three seasons before finally clinching the starting Packers spot for 2023, starting all 17 regular season games and two playoff encounters.
The promising prospect signed a new four-year deal in July, worth $220 million, making him the tied highest-paid player in NFL history, along with Trevor Lawrence and Joe Burrows. One wonders if the fact that the game took place in South America, also added to the stresses and strains suffered by Love.
Matt LaFleur will be looking to Love to push the Packers back towards a deeper postseason run, and Green Bay fans who never bet against the Packers will be looking to their team to make an immediate return to winning ways against the Indianapolis Colts, who travel to Lambeau Field for gameweek two.
Despite the initial prognosis suggesting a lengthy period out, LaFleur is playing things close to his chest on just when Love may get back out there,
“He’s got to be cleared, we’ve got to feel like he can protect himself, and he’s got to be confident enough to go out there and do that,”
“Until that happens, we’re not even going to think about that,” LaFleur added.
Got to be Smart with Love
Clearly, it would not be wise to rush Love back early, so one expects he’ll be out for their next game at least.
The Packers can’t afford to get off the pace in what is already a very difficult division, but that does not mean they will take an unnecessary risk on a star player. On his replacement, 25-year-old Willis, with two seasons (albeit as backup) under his belt at the Tennessee Titans, LaFleur added,
“It’s not like we’re dealing with a rookie here who has no background,”
“A lot of these offenses do similar things, it’s just how do you do them, when do you do them, who are you putting where.”
It’s a delicate balancing act when it comes to troublesome knocks to top starters. There is an understandable desire to get a player out and on the field, while also a fear that doing so early could end up leading a team to make a mountain out of a molehill.
2024 represents LaFleur’s sixth season at the helm, and after recording 13 regular season wins in each of his first three, the last two have proven far tougher, and as such, you get the impression that the Packers coach is in a make-or-break place this time around.