The main goal of the Green Bay Packers for the 2023 season is to be able to make an evaluation on whether or not Jordan Love is their quarterback of the future. When Aaron Rodgers took over as the starter in 2008, it took Green Bay eight weeks to decide he was indeed their franchise quarterback and they inked him to an extension.
They have not done so with Jordan Love. While he did sign a contract extension during the offseason, it effectively bought out his fifth-year option and keeps him under contract through 2024. If Green Bay felt like he is their franchise quarterback, they would have sign him to a longer deal.
Since they have yet to do that, there is some speculation outside of Green Bay that the Packers have actually already evaluated Love and have deemed him unfit to be the next franchise quarterback. To be clear, this is not because of anything the Packers organization, or anyone affiliated with it, have said. It is simply conjecture that may or may not be accurate.
Such is the nature of outside analysis, and one group of NFL analysts believe that the Packers should draft a quarterback in the first round and cut Love after June 1, 2024.
Bleacher Report Staff Believe the Green Bay Packers Should Cut Jordan Love After June 1, 2024
After nine games in his first year as a starter, Love has a 58.7% completion percentage, 2,009 passing yards, 14 touchdown passes, and 10 interceptions. At 3-6, the Packers, as a whole, are struggling and have very few answers in regards to how to fix any of their problems, including those that plague Love.
For this reason, the Bleacher Report NFL staff believes that the Packers should cut Love after June 1 in order to recoup some of the money they invested in him when they gave him a two-year extension earlier this summer:
“Jordan Love hasn’t inspired much confidence that he can be the Packers’ quarterback of the future and the organization can recoup some of the money he’s owed for next season with a post-June 1 release in the offseason, according to Spotrac.”
Of course, moving on from Love would mean that Green Bay would need a new starting quarterback. But don’t worry, Bleacher Report has an alternative.
The Green Bay Packers Could Draft North Carolina Quarterback Drake Maye
While USC’s Caleb Williams is considered by many to be the best quarterback in the draft, North Carolina’s Drake Maye is widely considered to be the second-best, and some may even say he is better than Williams. So far this season (10 games), Maye has a 65.8% completion percentage, 3,145 yards, 21 touchdowns, and six interceptions.
Of Maye, the Bleacher Report staff wrote:
“The more Drake Maye plays in 2023, the better he gets,” B/R NFL draft scout Derrik Klassen said. “After a few imperfect games to open the year, Maye is starting to make sweet, sweet music. Maye plays with fantastic pre-snap awareness as well as pocket presence.
“He also stays on schedule as a passer and plays with a good internal clock, which helps keep the offense away from negative plays. But when he has to, Maye can get active outside the pocket. He’s a B+ level athlete and can really move once he gets going on the edge.
“If Maye keeps playing the way he has recently, the QB1 conversation is going to get even hotter.”
Since Maye is so highly regarded, Green Bay may have to work out a trade in order to move up to get him. Currently, Green Bay has the sixth overall pick and Maye is expected to be taken within the first three picks.
Should the Green Bay Packers Move on From Jordan Love in 2024?
Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.
In short, the answer is “No, they should not move on so quickly.” By their own admission, the rest of the offense has not played well enough around Love in order for them to get a fair and accurate evaluation. The front office failed to give Love any established veteran pass catchers, banking on the notion that he would grow alongside his young core of playmakers.
Choosing to move on from Love so soon would show that they were not really that interested in seeing if he could grow along with those players. Instead, it would indicate that they expected him to be the perfect NFL starter right away.
Additionally, replacing Love with a rookie quarterback most likely will put them in this same situation in 2024. While Houston Texans rookie CJ Stroud is tearing up the NFL, he is exception to the rule. Typically, rookie quarterbacks struggle mightily. Just look at Bryce Young in Carolina.
Instead, Green Bay should focus on improving the quality of players around their quarterback. They should invest their first round pick in an offensive lineman, preferably a tackle. They should also look to free agency to find Love a reliable veteran wide receiver. Not necessarily a wide receiver one, but a pass catcher that does not make the mistakes that their young rookies and second-year players do.
By improving the quality of players around Love, they will see Love’s own play improve.
He doesn’t have to be a Hall of Fame quarterback like his predecessors; he just needs to play well enough to win games. And he can… if he has adequate support.
Right now he does not.
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1 Comment
There isn’t anything spectacular about Love. He drops so far back that when he finally throws the ball, the yardage is miminal. He gets spurts periodically and then is unsure of himself, flinging the ball away when he is sacked. We need a qtrback like Clifford. Give him a chance. Both games we won it was Clifford who won them. Can’t hurt