When the Packers re-signed Aaron Rodgers to a lucrative contract extension in March, it meant Jordan Love would be a backup QB for the team for at least another year.
Love has sat behind Rodgers for the last two seasons after the Packers selected him in the first round of the 2020 draft. He started one game last season when Rodgers was on the COVID-19 list and completed 19-of-34 passes for 190 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the 13-7 loss to Kansas City. He then played about half of the Week 18 game against the Lions, going 10-of-17 for 134 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
But even as Love ostensibly won’t have an opportunity to start for the Packers this season, he said he was “super happy” for Rodgers to get his contract extension.
“Obviously, the dude deserves it [with] what he’s done the last two years,” Love said, via Nicole Manner of Fox 11 Green Bay. “But personally for me, it just means that I’m about to be a backup again — for this year. And that’s all I can control right now. So I was happy for Aaron, but at the same time it’s like, ‘ah.’ You know?”
If there’s a benefit for Love, it’s that he’s receiving the bulk of the first-team reps with Rodgers not attending the voluntary offseason program. With that, he said he’s not altered his approach from last year into this year.
“[I]t was kind of the same because you didn’t know what was going to happen,” Love said. “And now that he’s signed, he’s back, I don’t think it changes anything for me. Like I said, I’m still here. I’m still going to do my job and I’m competing to try to be that guy if he wasn’t here, if he is here. So, he’s not here right now, so I’m the one getting all the 1s reps. So I look at it as I’m the guy right now.”
Love’s offseason, training camp, and preseason performance could have a lot to do with whether or not the Packers elect to pick up his fifth-year option next spring — or if there’s a demand for his services elsewhere on the trade market.