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The Green Bay Packers might need a new QB1 at practice depending on how Aaron Rodgers’ fractured toe is feeling after the bye week.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst placed backup quarterback Jordan Love on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday, December 6, leaving them with just two available quarterbacks as they begin to prepare for Week 14’s rematch with the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football.
Love took the majority of the first-team reps in practice for the Packers during the month of November as Rodgers himself had a 10-day stint on the COVID-19 list and then returned with an injured pinky toe that has kept him off the practice field. Now, the Packers might have to push the responsibility off onto third-stringer Kurt Benkert — who is currently on the practice squad — if rest is still the best course with Rodgers.
Love has previously told reporters he is fully vaccinated, which means his placement on the COVID-19 list is the result of him testing positive for the coronavirus (as the NFL does not place vaccinated players on the reserve list for close-contact issues). The good news is it also means he might be able to return to the active roster before Sunday’s game. He will not be subject to a 10-day isolation as Rodgers was and will be eligible for activation once he tests negative twice 24 hours apart and is asymptomatic.
Even if Love makes a quick and full recovery, the Packers will need a short-term plan for running things at practice. The best-case situation would still be finding that Rodgers’ toe healed up nicely over the bye week and that he can return to practice again, but even if he is doing better, they might not want to overdo it and put him at risk of missing any actual playing time.
Either way, a door seems to be open for Benkert.
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Will Benkert Receive Elevation Opportunity?
At this point, it feels inevitable that Love’s placement on the COVID-19 list will result in some form of increased opportunity for Benkert. He is the temporary No. 2 quarterback and will have to fulfill whatever responsibilities come with that role in the week ahead, whether that means taking limited reps around Rodgers in practice or spending the full week of build-up as the team’s starting while the reigning MVP continues to treat his fractured toe.
Will the Packers actually elevate Benkert from the practice squad for his efforts, though?
The status of Love will be an important factor in determining whether Benkert gets his first elevation opportunity of the 2021 season. Obviously, if Love is unable to clear COVID-19 protocol in time for Sunday night’s game against Chicago, Benkert would be promoted without a second thought to serve as Rodgers’ backup in prime time. It is also possible, though, that the Packers might roll with Benkert all week as their first-team quarterback in practice only to activate Love and not grant him a temporary promotion against the Bears.
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