Jordan Love clearly wants to play football.
He’s less than two weeks out from injuring his MCL in what looked to be a terrible injury on the field at the end of Week 1. He was given three to four weeks to recover but heading into Week 3’s matchup with the Tennessee Titans, it sounds like Love is doing everything he can to play.
In fact, he reportedly took part in a padded practice on Thursday and head coach Matt LaFleur is officially calling him limited.
“Limited. That’s all you’re going to get from me, LaFleur said of Love’s status, per a video on the team website (h/t NBC Sports)
“I think everyday is a good day for him to get out there and be out there with his teammates,” LaFleur continued. “Same as every week. We’ll give him up to kickoff, 90 minutes [when inactives are due].”
While it does sound like Love is trying to play and the Packers certainly want their $220M quarterback and potential superstar out there, the Titans aren’t necessarily an opponent that the Packers can’t beat without Love.
They proved that last weekend against the Indianapolis Colts. Sure, it was just a 16-10 win, but a win is a win in the NFL, and LaFleur’s run-heavy offensive gameplan plus a dash of competent and effective quarterbacking from backup Malik Willis was all it took to secure what was ultimately a win that wasn’t as close as it seemed.
The Titans do have a defense that leads the league in yards given up with just 206.5 through two games but consider the fact that they played a young and growing Chicago Bears offense in Week 1 and the New York Jets and Aaron Rodgers in Week 2. And still, Tennessee lost both games by a score of 24-17.
This isn’t a juggernaut Titans’ defense and offensively, Green Bay’s defense should have a field day against Will Levis and company.
Ultimately, this is a winnable game without Love, so if the Packers can keep him “limited” and thus give him another week to heal, they’ll be better off in the long run for it.