We've been here far too often this season, entering the weekend with uncertainty over Jordan Love's status for the upcoming game.
Love is dealing with a groin injury that forced him to exit last week's win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, placing his status for Sunday's matchup against the Detroit Lions in doubt. The official word from the Packers is that Love is questionable, while head coach Matt LaFleur is doing everything possible to avoid actually answering questions about his status.
In Love's own words, there is a "realistic" chance he will play this week, and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport has provided a significant update that takes it a step further.
Ian Rapoport believes Jordan Love is on track to play in Week 9 vs. Lions
LaFleur doesn't want to provide any clues about Love's status, saying no more than he was "limited" at practice and is "questionable" for the game. Thankfully, Rapoport is here to "translate" LaFleur's comments for us in a recent episode of The Insiders for NFL Network.
Rapoport believes Love will play, barring any setbacks over the weekend.
"It does appear that he is tracking to play. It does seem that it has been as positive this week as you could possibly get," said Rapoport. "The fact that he was able to get out there on Thursday and Friday, that is all good and positive. To my understanding, he has had no setbacks, and barring falling down the stairs or something horrible on Saturday, does expect to play on Sunday."
It certainly appears to be trending in that direction. Earlier this week, ESPN's Adam Schefter predicted that Love would play because his injury was far less significant than they had feared.
Love logged consecutive practices, which is another positive step in his recovery. LaFleur said the upcoming bye week isn't part of their decision-making—if Love is cleared, he will play.
The next part of the process is to see if the Packers elevate practice squad quarterback Sean Clifford to the gameday roster on Saturday. If they don't, it means Love and Malik Willis would be the only available quarterbacks on Sunday, effectively guaranteeing that Love will play. We'll see.
While things can change if Love feels any discomfort between now and kickoff, all signs point toward the Packers having their franchise quarterback available for Sunday's crucial matchup against the Lions.
