Jordan Love came in on Sunday Night Football after Aaron Rodgers’ injury and the reigning back-to-back MVP revealed his thoughts on his successor’s play.
Though it does appear that the Green Bay Packers will have Aaron Rodgers under center in Week 13, he exited the team’s last game on Sunday Night Football against the Philadelphia Eagles. And that paved the way for former first-round pick and perceived Rodgers successor Jordan Love to take over in relief.
Love performed admirably — perhaps much more so than expected given the little we’ve seen of him previously. Rodgers played almost three-quarters of the game and was only 11-of-16 for 140 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, but Love came in and went 6-of-9 for 113 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers as he tried to mount a comeback.
He was ultimately unsuccessful in his comeback attempt, but he left an impression; an impression that left some to wonder if the team should shut down Rodgers and let Love start the rest of the season.
‘Older brother’ Aaron Rodgers had great reaction to Jordan Love’s performance vs Eagles
Given that conversation happening, it was of curiosity as to what Rodgers would have to say about Love. But during his weekly Tuesday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers had a fantastic reaction to the young quarterback’s performance, showing a true mentor’s mentality about the situation.
“It was really nice to watch,” Rodgers said. “I feel like an older brother watching him do well. I care about the kid a lot. Fun to see his growth, fun to see him just kind of relax out there.”
So count Aaron Rodgers among those that Jordan Love impressed when he got into the game.
No matter what Rodgers thinks, however, Love’s performance in Week 12 is going to raise questions in Green Bay. The team doesn’t know if Rodgers plans to return or retire after the 2022 season and, in a similar manner, they also don’t know what they have in Love as a succession plan.
It might behoove the Packers to turn the reins over to Love for the rest of the season to help answer the latter part of that equation. However, it remains to be seen if Rodgers would be open to that idea, even with his injuries.
For what it’s worth, though, Rodgers likes what he saw from Love this past week. And the way he’s talking should give Packers fans a hint of optimism about the future.