Green Bay Packers fans have been left to grapple with serious questions about their season with Jordan Love injured, but one move the team made this week should give Packers nation optimism.
Dan Graziano of ESPN reported on Wednesday, September 11, that Green Bay will not place Love on the injured reserve list (IR), which means they believe he could be back on the field ahead of his current rehabilitation schedule.
“It’s noteworthy that the Packers did not put Love on injured reserve Monday,” Graziano wrote. “That could indicate some level of optimism that he might not have to miss four games.”
Packers Will Go With QB Malik Willis Against Colts in Week 2
Love’s MCL sprain could take anywhere up to six weeks to fully heal. However, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported in the joint piece with Graziano Wednesday that the Packers are looking at the situation as “… surviving Weeks 2-5, which Green Bay can attempt to do with a strong running game and defense.”
The Packers could have opened up another roster spot by moving Love to the IR. That they didn’t offers hope the QB could return to the lineup in either Week 3 or Week 4.
One thing that is certain, however, is that Love will not be active when the Packers host the Indianapolis Colts at Lambeau Field this weekend. Head coach Matt LaFleur has already named backup Malik Willis the starting quarterback for that contest.
Green Bay traded a 2025 seventh-round draft pick to the Tennessee Titans for Willis on August 26, which means he will have been with the team less than three weeks when he makes just the fourth start of his professional career Sunday.
The Packers have QB Sean Clifford on the practice squad, who will presumably elevate to the active roster and backup Willis against Indy. Green Bay drafted Clifford in the fifth round in 2023, though he struggled during the preseason as Love was sidelined by a holdout while waiting to sign a contract extension.
Clifford likely knows the offense better than Willis, but Willis has more experience at the NFL level after starting three games (1-2) as a rookie with the Titans. The QB has appeared in 12 contests across his two-plus seasons in the league, tallying totals of 350 passing yards and 3 INTs as well as 144 rushing yards and 1 TD, per Pro Football Reference.
One Bad Game Could Change Packers’ Outlook on Veteran Backup QB for Jordan Love
The Packers don’t appear on track this week to sign a free agent QB like Ryan Tannehill or to try to trade for a quality veteran somewhere in the league.
However, should Willis and/or Clifford struggle mightily and see the Packers stumble to an 0-2 start, the panic meter might rise in Green Bay and change the circumstances.
Relying on the defense, as Fowler suggested the Packers might, is something of a precarious proposition after the unit failed to hold the Philadelphia Eagles under 34 points last week in Brazil, even despite forcing 3 big turnovers in the contest.
