Getty Jordan Love #10 of the Green Bay Packers works out during training camp at Ray Nitschke Field on June 08, 2021 in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin.
Nobody knows just yet how important Jordan Love will be to the Green Bay Packers in 2021 given the ambiguity with Aaron Rodgers, but those who have gotten a preview of his Year 2 seem to be expecting big things.
Recently, ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler revealed that he spoke with one of the coaches involved in Love’s workout in Texas earlier this month and was told the Packers’ young first-round quarterback looked “exceptionally good” on the practice field in the build-up to his second NFL training camp with the team.
“Jordan Love just worked out in Texas with Deshaun Watson and Justin Fields,” Fowler said Tuesday on ESPN’s Get Up. “They all share the same agent. I spoke to a coach who was involved in that workout. He said Love looks exceptionally good, and that’s not hyperbole — this coach works with a lot of quarterbacks around the league and he said, ‘The energy out of the ball,’ when Love throws it, ‘is tangible.’ He’s just got an elite arm. And so, he could surprise some people if he does get in games this year — especially with enough arm strength to pierce through that Green Bay cold.”
The Packers are scheduled to hold their first training-camp practice on July 28, but it remains uncertain as to whether Rodgers — the league’s reigning MVP — will be present when they take the field. If not, the expectation is Love will take the majority of the reps as QB1 until Rodgers returns (assuming he doesn’t rule out that option).
Even if Rodgers does show up on time, Love will still get his opportunities to shine throughout the team’s three preseason games. His first chance will come on Aug. 14 when the Packers host the Houston Texans at Lambeau Field with subsequent games on Aug. 21 (vs. the New York Jets) and Aug. 28 (at the Buffalo Bills).
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Murphy: No Update on Rodgers
In terms of Rodgers’ situation with the Packers, nothing has really changed since ESPN’s Adam Schefter initially reported on the rift that had formed between them on April 29. Rodgers indicated last Sunday at Lake Tahoe that he was planning to “figure things out in a couple weeks,” which could be before camp starts at the end of July, but neither side has been willing to say for certain what will happen in the weeks ahead.
“I would say there’s nothing new to update on the issue that you raised,” Packers team president Mark Murphy told reporters Friday during a Zoom call about the team’s fiscal year.
Rodgers can no longer take the opt-out approach for the 2021 season, as the deadline for players to voluntarily sit out due to the COVID-19 pandemic has already passed. He could, however, hold out of training camp if he is interested in changing his current arrangement with the Packers. Or, if returning to Green Bay is somehow not an option for him, he could retire from the NFL and attempt to (eventually) force the Packers into trading him to another team.