Sometimes we have a short memory when it comes to evaluating NFL players.
It’s now a fact that Jordan Love is Green Bay’s guy. That he could actually become the Packers’ third consecutive franchise quarterback since Brett Favre. And that raises the real question of whether he should have held on tight a year ago, forcing the Packers to pick up his fifth-year option or let him sign a one-year deal.
There is another side to this. If Love hadn’t made a deal that gave him a two-year commitment to the Packers, they wouldn’t have picked up his fifth-year option (per source). Additionally, the Packers were 2-5 after seven games.
When GM Brian Gutekunst was asked if it would take more than the balance of the 2023 season to determine whether Love would be a starter in the future, Gutekunst warned Love. “I hope not,” Gutekunst said at the time. “I think we still have 10 games left. There will be 10 very important games.”
Without the contract Love got, would he have gotten those 10 games? Would they have given someone a chance to show what they can do? Would they have started to actively plan for life after Love?
Even as the Packers quietly began considering their 2024 options, the contract allowed Love (we’re told) to remain focused on the task at hand. Safety was critical to Love’s recovery — which propelled the Packers to the divisional round.
They went 7-3 down the stretch, eliminated the Cowboys in a wild card game and could (should) have defeated the 49ers in the divisional round. It could (should) have been Packers at Lions for a spot in the Super Bowl. It could (I won’t say it should) have been Packers-Chiefs in the Super Bowl the first year after Aaron Rodgers left town.
In hindsight, the key stretch (before the playoff win) was the three games following a loss at Pittsburgh that left Green Bay 3-6. Win at the Chargers, win against the Chiefs, win in Detroit on Thanksgiving. Flip those three and the Packers are 3-9 with a fork in the season — and possibly Love’s career in Green Bay as well.
Here’s the point. Without the security that came with the two-year deal, Love might not have been able to shut down the noise and turn things around. The season could have spiraled out of control and he would have been looking for a second chance on the open market.
Instead, he is now clearly Green Bay’s guy. And he will get paid this year. It’s not a question of if, but when. Especially since there is no owner in Green Bay who needs to fill their coffers with cash to buy a superyacht.
