Jordan Love was injured during Saturday’s preseason game against the Jets. Here’s what’s next, including a timetable for his return.
New York Jets defensive tackle Jay Tufele (78) sacks Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) during Saturday’s game. / Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin/Imagn Images
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love will have surgery on his injured left thumb, general manager Brian Gutekunst said before the start of Tuesday’s practice at training camp.
“It’ll put him out a little while,” Gutekunst said. “Hopefully, we’ll have him back at practice next week. Shouldn’t miss any regular-season time.”
The regular season will kick off at home against the two-time defending NFC North-champion Detroit Lions on Sept. 7. That’s in 26 days.
Surgery was scheduled for Tuesday morning. It will be a “relatively quick recovery,” coach Matt LaFleur said.
Love was injured when he tried to split a couple Jets defenders on a third-down sack on Saturday night. His thumb collided with the helmet of a Jets player. It’s a ligament injury, not a break.
Love practiced on Monday and was sharp, though he had to hand off the ball in what LaFleur called “unconventional” fashion to protect the thumb. LaFleur thought Love “powered through yesterday” well.
What changed between the injury on Saturday and the end of practice on Monday?
“I think he had some options with what he could do,” Gutekunst said. ‘Obviously, you guys saw him out there, he certainly was able to function, but as we looked at all the options and he did, as well, the best option I think for him to get back the fastest and feel the best was to do this. He wanted to go out there yesterday to see how it felt and once we got through that, we made the decision and he should be back.”
The plan was for Love to take part in the joint practice against the Colts on Thursday but not play in the game on Saturday, but to play in both the practice and game against the Seahawks to wrap up training camp. Now, LaFleur said it was “highly unlikely” that Love will play in either game.
“I thought he did a nice job yesterday of being able to get through everything. It wasn’t a factor on any of the snaps.”
After dealing with knee and groin injuries last year, Love has had a strong training camp.
“He’s had a good camp so far,” Gutekunst said. “I think as he gets back next week, we’ll kind of assess where he’s at. I think it’s one of those things where he’ll be back at practice next week. How much he can do leading into that Seattle game, we’ll kind of see and it’ll be day to day a little bit. You never want any of these guys to be out because you want to be working as a team. They all need the work, obviously. More importantly, he’ll be ready for Week 1 and that’s the most important thing.”
While Love should be fine for Week 1, the quarterback is the maestro of the offense. He is the critical component of building timing in the passing game. While Malik Willis has proven to be a solid backup, the timing offensively is going to change. That might not be a major issue for the returning receivers such as Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed, but it could be for rookie receiver Matthew Golden, who has earned a role in the offense.
“That’s life in the National Football League,” LaFleur said. “You’ve got to adapt, you’ve got to adjust and we’ll try to make the best of it. You don’t want anybody to miss practice. Whether it’s a starter or a backup, it doesn’t matter. We want everybody there working on their craft putting in the work to get better. But when somebody’s not there, it’s an opportunity for somebody else, so you’ve just got to try to look at it glass half full and try to make the best of the situation.”
Added Gutekunst: “I don’t like any of our guys to miss time. I think it’s important for all our guys to be out there. It certainly affects performance when you’re not out there. At the same time, we’ll get him back in plenty of time. I don’t foresee this affecting him long term at all.”
Love’s athleticism should be an asset that he has not turned to, even when healthy in 2023. During his two seasons, he ranks 23rd among quarterbacks in rushes. On the play against the Jets, a third-and-4, Love saw a lane to run through. But it quickly closed and Love wound up being dropped.
“I think that’s, especially the job of a quarterback, preseason you don’t want to be taking unnecessary hits,” Love said after the game. “When you get into situations like that where you start moving around, it’s like, ‘All right, how do I get the ball out of my hand or get down?’ You know, had a moment where I was trying to step up, get out of there and they collapsed on me. Was trying to move around, but there was nothing really there. I don’t think I had room to take off, so one of those instances just trying my best to get down right there.”
