Aaron Rodgers‘ situation in Green Bay is unresolved. Will he stay or will he go?
Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst said Tuesday that until the team speaks with Rodgers, all options are on table.
The one thing the Packers do know is: Jordan Love is ready to play.
“We’re excited about him,” Gutekunst said. “I think I’ve expressed to a lot of people that he needs to play. That’s the next step in his progression. He needs to play. Jordan’s done a great job working hard, so he’s doing everything we’re asking.”
Love, the 26th overall selection in 2020, has played only 10 games with one start in three seasons. But if he’s not ready now, he will never be ready.
“We took him for a reason back in 2020,” Gutekunst said. “He’s been progressing nicely, and to see him kind of take the jump he did this past year was nice. Again, it’s much different than going out there week in, week out, taking on the challenges when teams are game planning for you.
“We were talking earlier about the length of time it takes a quarterback to go from playing well to winning in this league, and he’ll need to go through those things just like every other quarterback. He’s taken some really good jumps and there’s more out there for him, but I think the things that are out there for him, he’s going to need to play to do that.”
It’s time for Love to show what he can do. The Packers know it. Everyone knows it, perhaps no one more than Rodgers.
In his first three seasons sitting behind Brett Favre, Rodgers appeared in only seven games, with no starts, and threw 59 passes with a touchdown and an interception. So, when the Packers parted ways with Favre after the 2007 season, they weren’t completely sure what they had in Rodgers.
Unlike the previous two offseasons, Rodgers isn’t coming off an MVP season. That will make it easier for the Packers to move on if Rodgers doesn’t retire.
All signs point to Love finally getting his chance in 2023.
“[Love] has probably expressed that he wants to start every season,” Gutekunst said. “But yeah, he knows where he’s at. I think he’s eager to play. So, he wants that opportunity and sometimes those things are out of your control like they have been for him the last few years. But I think he’s ready and excited.”