Carmen Vitali
NFC North Reporter
A year ago, the Green Bay Packers were in limbo. There was an extended will-they-or-won’t-they saga around the potential trade of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who had been under center in the green and gold since 2008.
His successor had been waiting in the wings for three seasons, like Rodgers himself did, and ultimately Green Bay decided it was time. They traded Rodgers to the New York Jets and named Jordan Love their new starter.
Packers brass spent the next few months trying to temper expectations on Love. They signed him to a modest two-year extension that would cover his fourth and fifth pro seasons. It was a way of hedging their bets and allowed Love to bet on himself. Sure, he was a first-round pick. Sure, he spent three years learning from one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. Sure, he was set up well (on paper) in his first year as starter.
But there’s a difference between knowing the scheme and executing it. But none of that mattered.
Love ended up being the prince who was promised. He steadily improved as the season wore on, even with a pass-catching group comprised entirely of first and second-year players. Even with offensive-line shuffling. Even with a defense that underperformed once again. Love progressed through it all.
So much so, that by the time his first season as starter was over he had not only lived up to Rodgers’ first year as starter — Love surpassed it. He threw for 4,159 yards and 32 touchdowns against 11 interceptions and led the team to a playoff run. The youngest team in the league advanced to the divisional round of the NFC playoffs when few expected them to reach the playoffs.
“For as good as he played, there’s so much more in front of him,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said at the NFL Combine on Tuesday to reporters. “The amount that is on that guy’s plate from pre-snap to post-snap and everything that goes into it, the…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/packers-should-sign-jordan-love-to-an-extension-sooner-rather-than-later
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Publish date : 2024-02-28 13:00:11
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