Jordan Love played two series for the Green Bay Packers in their 36-19 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in their first preseason game. Afterwards, whether or not Love would play again in the other two preseason games was up for debate. Head coach Matt LaFleur said that he would, but would not commit to which games or how many snaps he would play.
This week, the Packers hosted the New England Patriots for joint practices ahead of their preseason matchup on Saturday night. While the Green Bay offense struggled against the New England defense on Thursday, four-time Pro Bowl linebacker Matthew Judon came away with some pretty high praise for the Packers’ new starting quarterback.
On Friday, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst discussed the question of Love’s status for the next preseason game and their reasoning for that decision.
Jordan Love Will Start for the Green Bay Packers vs. the New England Patriots
When talking to reporters on Friday, Brian Gutekunst discussed many things. He emphatically stated that left tackle David Bakhtiari WILL NOT be traded. He also gave a promising update on De’Vondre Campbell’s ankle injury.
When the subject of Jordan Love possibly playing against the Patriots on Saturday night came up, Gutekunst said:
“I think it’s important for our offense to play together. You guys have heard me talking up here a million times of how he needs to play, and lot of it is just to see things over and over until you just kind of develop the instincts and the callouses to know what you can and can’t do and with our offense, with this particular group.
“So, it’s not just him. It’s our entire offense together. We’ve got a lot of young guys that are seeing some things for the very first time. I think yesterday was a great example of that.
“You come out of Cincinnati, you saw some things, now you’ve got a different approach. The Patriots kind of bring a different system, a different approach, and seeing those things for the first time, reacting to them, learning from them, growing from it.
“So, I think that’s why. And it’s not just our young players. I think some of our veteran players, just learning how to play with each other and just being the best we can be.”
Gutekunst would not say just how much Love will play. As mentioned, Love played the first two offensive series in Cincinnati, the second of which resulted in a touchdown pass to Romeo Doubs.
It will be a balancing act. On the on hand, the Packers want Love and the starters to get as much experience as they can before the regular season begins. On the other hand, they want their players to stay healthy.
Tight end Tyler Davis was already lost for the season with a torn ACL suffered in the first preseason game. The concern that other players could get hurt is real. But that is also the nature of the game. If Green Bay is to have as successful a season as possible, the young players need to play.
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