Rob DemovskyESPN Staff Writer Jul 24, 2023 3:08pm ET4 minutes read
Kimberley Martin: The Packers put their trust in Jordan Love
Kimberley Martin opens up on how well Jordan Love will do in his first year as a starter for the Packers.
GREEN BAY, Wisconsin — Throughout the offseason, the Green Bay Packers preached patience with new starting quarterback Jordan Love. That was the mantra of everyone from general manager Brian Gutekunst to coach Matt LaFleur and even some players.
Patience now has a timeline, at least how long it might take, to figure out if Love can extend the Packers’ 30-year MVP quarterback streak from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers and beyond, or if they might have to start looking for another quarterback as soon as next offseason.
“I’m comparing it a little bit to Aaron’s first year as a starter, yeah I’d say it takes at least half a season to know,” Packers President Mark Murphy said Monday. “And I think even though we’ve had a losing record this year, we’ve seen Aaron enough to know we had something special.”
While the Packers were 6-10 in Rodgers’ first season as a starter in 2008, the team had seen enough by midseason to warrant a contract extension. Rodgers threw for more than 4,000 yards and 28 touchdowns this season. Love’s rookie contract has already been extended; This off-season, he signed a contract that runs through the 2024 season. The deal essentially replaced the five-year option on his rookie contract.
Like Rodgers, Love spent his first three NFL seasons as a backup. Love has an NFL start to his tally, one more than Rodgers did when he took over Favre. Love was the handpicked successor to Rodgers in 2020 when Gutekunst moved up and took Love 26th overall in the NFL draft.
“He was heavily criticized when he drafted Jordan Love,” Murphy said of Gutekunst Monday during his address to Packers shareholders. “However, this draft has now enabled us to feel that we can be competitive over the long term.”
They may also need help from other areas as Love initially adjusts to life. The Packers used their first-round pick, No. 13 overall — acquired as part of Rodgers’ transfer to the New York Jets — against edge rusher Lukas Van Ness. It was the 12th time in their last 13 first-round picks that the Packers have played defense. Still, the Packers underperformed again on that side of the ball in 2022, making this a critical season for third-year defensive coordinator Joe Barry.
They also opted not to re-sign several of Rodgers’ favorite targets: receivers Randall Cobb and Allen Lazard, and tight ends Marcedes Lewis and Robert Tonyan.
“I think that’s one of the reasons people are excited, because there’s, I don’t know if I would call it, uncertainty, but we’re a very different team than last year,” Murphy told reporters after the shareholders’ meeting. “We’ll be younger, but I’m optimistic. I obviously have a lot of faith in Matt. I think our defense will probably have to carry us a bit at the beginning of the season.”
LaFleur has ridiculed the idea that Rodgers would allow him to oversee more of his system based on the Kyle Shanahan plan when Rodgers is gone. However, Murphy said that could well be the case.
“I think on offense you’re probably going to see a little more of Matt’s true attack,” Murphy said two days before the Packers’ first training camp. “When you have a great quarterback like Aaron and someone who’s been in the league for that long, obviously we gave him the flexibility to change plays and get things in and out, which really helped, but I expect strong running game and strong game action from that.”