GREEN BAY, Wis. — Matt LaFleur watched the quarterback retreat from the Green Bay sideline last November. The Packers faced a third-down, 16-yard situation from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 35-yard line, threatening to widen their 10-point lead if they didn’t attack.
But Jordan Love didn’t panic.
He stepped back, stepped back some more and then took a cross-body throw into the end zone.
Just beyond the hands of two defenders, receiver Jayden Reed scored.
LaFleur realized something.
His quarterback saw the game more as a fourth-year veteran than Love, who was also in his first year as a full-time player.
“At first, we were trying to protect him and, frankly, trying to protect not just him but all of our young guys,” LaFleur told Yahoo Sports after a practice at Packers training camp. “We got a little too conservative. [say] The saying among coaches around here is “shoot or shoot.”
“We started doing that and guys made plays and it obviously helped us down the stretch.”
After a late-season surge and a playoff win, the Packers enter 2024 as a young team in a competitive division. But they learned enough in their young quarterback’s first full season to know his success wasn’t a fluke. Instead, the Packers see 2023 as the realization of the potential that’s blossomed over three years of practice. Love’s command of the huddle and decision-making on game days has sold Packers management.
So general manager Brian Gutekunst stood firm this week, saying: “Green Bay doesn’t have to make any more decisions regarding its franchise quarterback.”
The two teams confirmed that on Friday, agreeing to a four-year, $220 million contract extension with Love, following a week of training camp holdouts that focused on the exact price of Love’s services rather than whether a partnership was interesting to both sides.
“We’re very confident that his success last year was not a mistake,” Gutekunst told Yahoo Sports during practice on Wednesday. “He still has room to grow. He has a lot of challenges ahead of him, and that’s why we want him here as soon as possible, because there are a lot of important things he needs to get over to get ready for this season.”
“But having that history with him I think gives us a lot of confidence in where he’s going.”
While Aaron Rodgers was winning MVP awards, Jordan Love was growing behind the scenes
Most NFL teams would be hesitant to do what the Packers did this week. It’s unusual to assign a player who has been a starter for one season to be a franchise quarterback. Even more unusual is the path Love and the Packers took that season.
A look at the record six quarterbacks selected in the first 12 picks of this year’s NFL Draft shows how desperate teams are to find a quarterback and get that pick to stick with the team right away. In today’s NFL, first-round quarterbacks don’t typically spend their rookie year on the bench. Love had the luxury of three years to develop.
It’s hard to pinpoint the extent to which Green Bay’s patience has led to its success, or to the extent to which it has fostered a culture of patience.
But Aaron Rodgers spent three years on the bench before winning four MVP awards and a Super Bowl championship with the Packers. After Love spent three years on the bench, he finished seventh in passing yards (4,159) and second in passing touchdowns (32) last season. No first-year starter did better last year.
“A lot of quarterbacks in this league play too well before they’re ready and it ruins it,” LaFleur said.
LaFleur abandoned his own philosophy of gradually introducing quarterbacks to tactical knowledge, opting to mentally challenge Love from the get-go. After the Packers selected Love with the 26th overall pick in 2020, much to Rodgers’ dismay, LaFleur decided to give Love a ton of protection and formation information.
“I’ve changed my mindset on how I train quarterbacks,” LaFleur said. “Now I just think about giving them as much as they can handle and allowing them to make mistakes along the way.”
“In many cases, [mistakes] I am the best teacher for you.”
Some of those mistakes came during practice, when Love was learning how to flip protections — repositioning teammates before the snap, a diagnostic that not all coaches ask their quarterbacks to master — and some came during spot plays, like a 13-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021, when Love posted a 69.5 passer rating.
His 96.1 rating last season reflected refined mechanics and clearer field vision.
Center Josh Myers marveled as Love guided a pass off a “run can” and adjusted the defense to counter a zero blitz on his way to a touchdown.
“It was like, ‘Wow, that’s the pinnacle of what a quarterback can be in football,'” Myers told Yahoo Sports. “He’s come a long way.”
In one game, backup quarterback Sean Clifford noted that Love thought he heard a third-down call that wasn’t in the red zone, and then threw a touchdown on a corner route anyway.
“That’s when my confidence started to grow. [that] “It doesn’t have to be a perfect play,” Clifford told Yahoo Sports. “If it’s a play that Jordan likes to make, he can go out and make it.”
The stories of his teammates continue, from Love’s composure in the team’s upset playoff win over the Dallas Cowboys to the early lead he built in a three-point loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional game.
When Love completed a no-look pass in OTAs, edge rusher Rashan Gary began to wonder whether he should always be surprised, or never be surprised.
“I didn’t know he had that kind of talent,” Gary told Yahoo Sports. “I’m just happy to be on his team and not have to play against him.”
How Love stayed involved when the deal stalled
Love, entering his second year as a starter, faces a double-edged sword.
Pros: He’s an experienced player who will enjoy more aggressive, confident play-calling from LaFleur, he has a well-rounded supporting cast and the Packers have raved about the underrated defensive control that blossomed in his game last year.
Weaknesses: Defensive coordinators weren’t prepared with game film on him last season, and in recent months they’ve been mulling over how to exploit the weaknesses that led to his 11 interceptions and nine fumbles, as well as thwarting the mind-game and athleticism that powered his 32 touchdowns.
Improving coordination with a group of receivers that offers depth over flashiness will be key, as will integrating concepts defenses haven’t seen before.
Ah, that’s the problem. At least that may have been the case before Love was signed.
He attended all three practices in street clothes. His representatives, David Mulugheta and Andrew Kessler, informed the Packers on Saturday night before the start of camp that their client would not practice until a contract extension was finalized.
Love’s camp believed the risk of a quarterback’s value declining due to injury was too great, and withholding labor is one of the few negotiating tactics players have historically had success with, as existing collective bargaining agreements often give NFL teams and owners the advantage in contract negotiations.
Love held out because quarterback holdouts pose unique challenges because they require more leadership and strategic commitment than other positions.
Jordan Love coaches Packers rookie QB Michael Pratt on technique.
Michael said Jordan also helped him with his film studies.
“He’d say, ‘Hey, Mike, who’s on the offensive line? Who are they paired with? How’s the defense doing?’ Jordan did a great job … asking me the tough questions.” pic.twitter.com/7gmLjV2osG
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) July 24, 2024
According to his teammates, he actively participated in every meeting, challenged the team with film study and coached them on technique.
Love helped one of the offensive linemen stretch a hip flexor during practice Tuesday and recommended a radical adjustment to rookie quarterback Michael Pratt’s individual workout on Wednesday.
But he didn’t take any snaps or compete on defense in the first week.
“I know he doesn’t want to play,” Myers said. “He doesn’t want that.”
“He’s just staying positive.”
The leadership and atmosphere are great, and members of the front office believe practice is key to their comfortable and stated Super Bowl goal.
Love can now participate in padded practices, his first chance to show Green Bay he made the right decision.
