Jordan Love's time in the spotlight will come this year, more than three years after the green bay packers traded to take the quarterback out of Utah State with the no. 26 pick in the 2020 draft.
When the Packers officially traded Aaron Rodgers to the New York jets for a bevy of picks this offseason, Love ascended from backup to starter. And while his career timeline looks, incidentally, very similar to Rodgers', Love admits it was hard to wait until he did.
“Feels Like It's Been Three Years, It Feels Like Looking Back,” Love told reporters Wednesday. “The first year was the longest. … It certainly felt like a while.”
The idea of Love in 2023 was not new to Rodgers. Speculation indicated a possible quarterback change in Green Bay as early as 2022, until Rodgers agreed to a three-year, $150 million deal 14 months ago to stay in Green Bay. That's when Love said he began to question his future with the Packers and reportedly considered a trade request.
“It was kind of, okay where do we go from here?” Dear Said, “what do I have to do?”
But after the Packers' 2022 season spiraled out of control and retirement rumors swirled around Rodgers, Love said he “approaches” the off-season as if he will be the starter. With Rogers still on the roster, however, there was no guarantee that he would end his NFL career or be traded elsewhere.
The Packers and Jets finally completed a trade after months of negotiations, and now Love is finally an NFL starting quarterback. Love said that he and Rodgers talked after the trade and the new Jets quarterback told Love “the best and that if I need anything he will always be there for me.” Green Bay also signed the 24-year-old Love to a sizable extension for the 2024 season — a vote of confidence for a quarterback with only one start and 83 passing attempts in his career.
Love Enters Third Season With Limited Experience
While it's impossible to project whether Love can rise to Rodgers' level, the similarities between their careers don't end at the time frame in which they start for the Packers. Both did not see much action in the regular season before taking over: Rodgers had only 85 passing attempts for 799 yards, one touchdown and one interception in seven games in three years behind Brett Favre, while Love had the same number of attempts. But only 606 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions in 10 games.
Luv's solo debut in 2021 hasn't been great either. He completed 19 of 34 attempts for 190 yards with one touchdown and one interception in a 13–7 loss to the kansas City Chiefs in Week 9. 6-of-9 passes for 114 yards with a 63-yard touchdown pass to then-rookie wideout, Christian Watson. The Packers lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 40–33.
“I've improved a lot since college and since I've been here,” Love Said, “Just learning the plan, learning how to play the plan and learning to improve myself as a quarterback.”
He'll end up with a young supporting cast and has the worst chances to win the NFC North at +400. betmgm,
Veteran receivers Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb join Rodgers in New York, leaving second-year wideouts Watson and Romo Doubtful as the only quality pass-catcher on the roster. Green Bay drafted two tight ends and a receiver in the first three rounds this year with running backs Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillian is still reliable, but this isn't the same group of skill position players that went to the NFC title game in 2019 and 2020.