GREEN BAY, Wisconsin: In 2008, seven games into Aaron Rodgers’ rookie campaign as the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, they extended his contract. The Packers still need more time to determine whether Jordan Love is the team’s long-term quarterback at this point in his rookie campaign.
From a contractual standpoint, Love still has one more year left on his contract, so it’s not critical. However, they would prefer that they find out whether he’s the solution before this season ends.
General manager of the Packers Brian Gutekunst stated, “I hope not,” on Wednesday at his yearly midseason news conference. “I believe we have ten games remaining. These ten games will be crucial ones.”
Under Love, the Packers were up 2-1 at the beginning, and he had already thrown seven touchdowns and just one interception. Since then, Love has thrown four touchdowns and seven interceptions while the Packers have dropped four straight games.”
I think he’s done a lot of really good things,” Gutekunst said. “Really like the way he’s responded to the adversity, how he’s led the team. Again, we’ve got to be better as a unit, and I expect that to happen over the next 10 games. And I think that we’re going through some things that we knew we would go through. We haven’t had the results that we want, but I do like the way guys are responding to things.”
The team is completely broken as a result of the offense’s first-half struggles. For the first five games, opponents have outscored Green Bay 73-9 overall in the first two halves. It currently shares the second-worst first-half point differential in the NFL at minus-59. The Packers have the second-best second-half record in the league at plus-42.
Love’s play was deemed by Gutekunst to be “a little up and down.”
Like our entire offense, right?” he said. “I think it’s been a work in progress for the entire offense. There’s been glimpses, particularly in the second halves, of really good football. But we have not started very well. So, I think that group, that unit as a whole has a lot of work to do. But at the same time, they’re kind of committed to the process, believe in that group of guys and expect better results coming.”
Before Tuesday’s trade deadline, Gutekunst surrounded Love with the NFL’s youngest roster and took no action to change it. Nowhere is that more apparent than at the pass-catching positions, where the Packers have nine players in their first or second NFL season between tight ends and receivers. Josiah Deguara, a fourth-year tight end, is the only tight end or receiver with more than two years of experience.
Of the 32 quarterbacks who qualify, Love has the lowest completion percentage (57.7%), just behind Zach Wilson of the Jets (58.3%). For both total and passing yards per game, the Packers are ranked 25th and 21st, respectively.
It is difficult to evaluate someone when the group as a whole is not operating as it should, according to Gutekunst. “At the same time, we have an obligation to correct that so that we can proceed and assess the men in that room.” However, it’s difficult to evaluate anything when we’re not clicking.”
Two days prior, coach Matt LaFleur stated that it has been challenging to assess Love thus far. Gutekunst’s remarks coincided with his remarks.
“I think in order to do that, I think everybody’s got to play better around him, quite frankly,” LaFleur stated on Monday. Is there anything he can do more effectively? Certainly. He would probably be the first to inform you. Are there any staff-level actions we can take to support our guys? Certainly. And then we have to write the plays when they need to be written.”
Despite serving as Rodgers’ backup for three seasons, Gutekunst claimed to have assessed Love as a rookie.
Gutekunst in the offseason signed Love to a contract extension that is worth up to $22.5 million through the 2024 season. It was in place of exercising the fifth-year option on his rookie deal. Rodgers also took over in his fourth year, but at that time there was not a fifth-year option in contracts of first-round picks, so Rodgers entered his first season as the starter in the final year of his original contract.
If the Packers can’t turn things around starting with Sunday’s game against the Rams, they seem destined for a top-10 draught pick this offseason. In exchange for Rasul Douglas on Tuesday, the Bills received a 2024 third-round pick and a fifth-round pick. This indicates that the Packers have five picks in the first three rounds at this point, giving them plenty of options should they decide to select a different quarterback.
“I really do believe in the group in that building and the coaching staff, and I think big things are ahead,” said Gutekunst. “We just have to keep moving forward and get through these obstacles. We must take lessons from them. Throughout the process, we must maintain our composure. If we do that, I believe
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