A big day of Packers developments continues. The team still has not heard from Aaron Rodgers on his 2022 preference, though GM Brian Gutekunst set the stage for an interesting situation by indicating he did not necessarily agree to trade Rodgers if the MVP requested it.
All this leaves Jordan Love staring at two disparate paths. The 2020 first-round pick could enter the season as Green Bay’s starter, or he could become an afterthought if Rodgers signs another Packers extension. In the event Rodgers returns, Gutekunst plans to hang onto Love. The fifth-year GM said Wednesday it is “very doubtful” he would take trade calls on his current backup, via The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman (on Twitter).
“I think obviously during an NFL season, it’s tough as a backup quarterback, with the way we do things nowadays, to develop,” Gutekunst said, via Schneidman (subscription required). “But at the same time, I thought he made some really good strides. I’m really excited to see where he goes from here.”
It obviously makes sense for the Packers to sit tight at present, given Rodgers’ murky status. And Love’s value has taken a bit of a hit since the Packers traded up to draft him two years ago. Although Love received the first-team reps during the Packers’ offseason program, he did not play well in his surprise start against the Chiefs. That said, this quarterback draft is not viewed especially high regard, and the QB trade market may not be robust — depending on how certain teams act in the coming weeks. Love could be intriguing to a team that does not land one of the top options coming out of free agency.
A third option exists of Rodgers coming back for one more year and walking in free agency in 2023. That certainly would make additional Love development valuable. However, if Rodgers signs an extension, which the Packers are prepared to authorize, it would make sense for the team to listen on Love.
Green Bay is in uncharted territory regarding a first-round quarterback. Since the 2011 CBA introduced the revamped rookie wage scale, no team has kept a first-round QB as its primary backup for two full seasons. Of course, the Packers stood as an outlier during the 2000s as well by sitting Rodgers for three years behind Brett Favre. A Rodgers extension, however, opens the door to Love sitting throughout his rookie deal. There is no modern comp for that. The team’s fifth-year option call on Love is due in May 2023.
Of course not….it was his stupid pick to begin with. Can not wait for Gute to get fired.
Terrible take. So it’s ok when the GM finds legit stars in Rasul Douglas and Devondre Campbell…but it’s not ok to miss on draft choices…no matter what round taken? You lack football intelligence and general knowledge of how professional sports runs if you think that.
Terrible retort. Just an absolute wasted pick with your franchise qb still in his prime showing no signs of slowing down team BADLY needing help in a multitude of areas (with #1 being WR) and he takes a qb, which was a reach at this pick anyway, that also was not needed and will never be anything more than a career backup.
You lack football intelligence and general knowledge of how professional sports runs if you think that.
It was a bad pick. However, 1 bad pick is not solid cause to fire the GM.
I say that now despite calling for his head for over a year after he not only picked Love, but followed it up by taking Dillon (which looks pretty good NOW) and a TE (can’t recall if it was Deguara or Sternberger at the moment) in the 3rd round, as well as basically ignoring the WR position since..well always.
And before anyone accuses me of lacking football intelligence…I already know and I’m ok with it.
One pick might not shut the door on Gutekunst, I agree, but the rest of that draft was pretty hideous too outside of Dillon (who, even as good as he is, is still a second stringer). It’s beyond me to say Gutekunst should be fired, but any way you cut it, Love was an awful pick. The fact that they traded up for a QB that they don’t feel comfortable starting in his third year is even worse.
I said this in another topic, but I really believe that it’s true-if Green Bay wanted to stick with Rodgers for another three years, they should picked players that would have helped in that timeframe. Instead, they picked depth options who have not started or may never never start-like Love or Deguara (that TE they picked in 3rd that Manny referenced) when they knew they needed a starter at ILB, DE, and WR at the least. It could have been much better as a draft class.
“but followed it up by taking Dillon (which looks pretty good NOW)”
eh, I disagree. They already had a great RB in Aaron Jones. Dillon made no sense then and still makes no sense. QB and RB were arguably the two positions the Packers were most set at and Gute blew 1st and 2nd round picks on them when his WR corps was Adams and a bunch of trash. Two full seasons later, the WR corps is still just Adams and a bunch of trash.
I hate hind-sighting drafts, but they could have drafted Tee Higgins or Michael Pittman Jr instead of Love and it would have saved them a 4th rounder as well. *And* not annoyed Aaron Rodgers.
Jones and Williams were set to become free agents and nobody knew if they could, would or should re-sign either of them. That’s the logic in drafting Dillon. At the time most people just thought they did it a round too early.
Similar to the Love selection, except they didn’t move up to do it.
Basically everything you said about the Love pick I agree with.
Dillon was still a goofy pick. Zero indication he wouldn’t have been available a round or two later, and it’s not like you need to take a RB that high to find a perfectly good one, especially in a Shanahan derived scheme. And there are also perfectly good ones available as free agents. I like Dillon, but they had bigger needs and more valuable options.
Don’t argue with Sooner. He’s an idiot who prefers Madden-esquire perfection at player procurement. Gutekunst has an extremely solid track record there….but the idiots consistently while over one pick, foolishly believing going in another direction would have guaranteed additional success. It’s a fools errand to make that suggestion….but consider Sooner is the source of the delusion.
Would you like to give evidence of that solid track record, or just name-call members who disagree with you?
Look at the people agreeing with you…..vs me.
Who’s delusional again?
So you wouldn’t answer the call that no one is making?
Teams keep calling about Jordan Love. You wouldn’t know them. They go to another school.
You mean unlikely to get calls on Jordan Love
That should be pretty easy
He looked less developed than Trey Lance, so I’m pretty sure there aren’t many teams clamoring to trade for Love…
They’d honestly be lucky to get back a 4th/5th Round pick, and at that rate they should just keep him as a backup in case Rodgers gets injured who knows the system..
It was questionable at the time, and it still remains pretty puzzling. I bet Packers fans look at the studs that were picked after Love, and can’t help but think one of those guys could have been the missing piece to get them through the playoffs the past couple years..
Higgins, Claypool, Pittman Jr., etc. ugggh..what could have been…
Yep. And it’s not even hindsight. Higgins and Pittman were both very obvious (and discussed) options at the time, and they wouldn’t have needed to trade up.
So they won’t be taking calls they won’t be getting? Got it.
The issue is the Love pick but this Gms constant public back and forth with Rodgers. If you didn’t exactly agree to this keep this behind close doors. Instead let’s try to flex on Rodgers and embarrass him. Show power over him. The GM should of kept everything this year and last year behind closed doors.
Rodgers is the star and the entertainer.
Trey Lance and 2 first round picks for Aaron Rogers?
I’m certainly no expert in trade values..but I think based on previous packages mentioned in Rodgers to Denver (and a couple other less likely ones) might need a little more. Denver’s 1st rounder this year is 8th overall I believe..and if I’m not mistaken doesn’t SF’s ’22 first rounder brlong to Miami..?
Personally I’m not wild about Lance, simply because it means 2 inexperienced guys battling for a job neither is likely to be real successful.
Didn’t Lance already cost them 3 first rounders? So that’s 5 first rounders going for a very short term rental in Rodgers? LOL!!! And why would GB want a bust like Lance to go with their own bust in Love?
Love was a terrible pick. Just terrible. I understand the need to draft for the future, but at that time you needed to draft for the present and he wasted a pick that could have helped the team then. That being said, outside of that pick I don’t think he’s done a poor job.
Those teams calling on Love were from the new USFL asking if they could draft him since he’ll never cut it in the NFL…