The Green Bay Packers have a new starting quarterback this season in Jordan Love. For the previous 15 years, future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers was under center for the Pack, and he usually delivered outstanding play. But somethings happened during the 2022 season that gave Jordan Love an opportunity to prove he was ready to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.
First Major Opportunity:
The first opportunity created for Love in 2022 was Rodgers’ decision not to attend voluntary OTAs. This did two things. It made the Packers front office question Rodgers’ commitment to the team, and it gave Love the chance to get extra reps in practice.
The fact that Rodgers attended all OTAs and minicamp sessions this offseason with the New York Jets only reinforced the front office’s position that Rodgers was not fully committed to the Packers.
While Rodgers was away from the team, Love was gaining valuable reps with his teammates including then rookies Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Samori Toure.
Second Jordan Love Opportunity:
The second chance Love got in 2022 came when Rodgers broke his thumb in the Packers Week 5 loss to the New York Giants in London. The injury happened on the final play of the game. The Packers blew a 10-point halftime lead in that game and failed to score on a late drive that stalled at the Giants six-yard line with 1:05 left.
Rodgers didn’t miss any games because of the broken thumb. He also didn’t publicly admit there was a fracture until later in the season when the injury had practically healed.
While Rodgers was on the field for every game, he missed significant practice time because of the thumb injury. The coaching staff held him out of practice hoping his thumb would not swell up more during the week so he could play on Sunday.
This meant that Love was taking almost all the practice reps with the Packers first string offense for the majority of the 2022 campaign. This helped Love develop more chemistry and timing with his teammates and gave the coaching staff the chance to observe Love at practice every day. By the end of the season, the coaches saw more growth in Love’s game.
Third Jordan Love Opportunity:
Later in the season, Rodgers suffered a rib injury in the Packers game in Philadelphia against the Eagles and could not continue. Love entered the game early in the fourth quarter with the Packers down 37-23. He led the Packers on two scoring drives which included a 63-yard touchdown pass to Watson.
Love finished the game 6-of-9 for 113 yards and a touchdown. His quarterback rating was 146.8. He showed leadership and poise. Love faced blitzes by the Philadelphia defense and still made the right reads and completed his passes.
When Love took advantage of these opportunities and Rodgers continued to evade Brian Gutekunst during the offseason according to the Packers GM, the Packers decided to trade Rodgers and go with Love.
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