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Rookie QB Jordan Love can expect more snaps in next month’s training camp after Packers head coach Matt LaFleur revealed his plan to give the 23-year-old more responsibility in the upcoming season.
According to LaFleur, the team understands that Love is talented and has a promising prospect. For the time being, Love is set to provide some depth behind Rodgers with the team supporting him.
“It’s real work and he needs all the work that he can get. I know he’ll take that,” LaFleur told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “I think it’s every opportunity when you’re a young quarterback that doesn’t have a ton of game experience, and you’re not getting the bulk of the reps throughout the course of the season, so I think it’s very valuable for Jordan.”
“I definitely think I’m maxing out all the reps,” Love said to the Wisconsin State Journal. “Even the reps where I’m like, ‘Ah man. I wish I had done this, I wish I had done that,’ I get to go back on film, watch it and just be able to learn. You learn more from your mistakes than from your successes.”
Love also said that he was able to learn and grow in the offense while being able to recognize defenses and coverages under the guidance of Joe Barry, the Packers’ defensive coordinator.
Several Green Bay players had said they noticed a positive shift in Love’s confidence and ability as a signal caller in recent weeks. Among them are running back A.J. Dillon, who said that Love has begun to get his “swagger back” and that he likes where the backup QB is moving in.
Love’s QB apprenticeship in Green Bay has been rather unusual. After he was drafted from Utah State in 2020, his first offseason was mostly derailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He made his first and only NFL start in Green Bay’s 13-7 loss against the Chiefs, where he led the offense to one scoring drive in the game. At that time, he was granted the opportunity because Aaron Rodgers was out due to COVID-19.
Now that Rodgers is up again for at least a few more seasons after signing a new three-year contract with Green Bay, it is likely that Love will remain to be his backup in the future. Fortunately, there is no known animosity between them β Rodgers and Love’s relationship has been described to be something like between “the Master and the Padawan”.
In addition, since the Packers decided to release QB backup Kurt Benkert, Love will have an opportunity to get more snaps and learn more. He did take snaps in six different games last season, which has given him some time to improve in 2021, and he may do the same in 2022.
Currently, while Rodgers will remain the starting QB of the team, it is important to remember that anything may happen in a single game. Love is expected to be ready when his time comes, and he might as well be Green Bay’s future when Rodgers decides to retire.
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