Although Aaron Rodgers famously needed to wait until his fourth season to become an NFL starter, the Packers had seen enough from the future Hall of Famer midway through that 2008 season to hand out an extension.
The Packers and Rodgers agreed on what became a wildly team-friendly deal on Oct. 31, 2008 — six years, $63.52MM — to set up the ascending quarterback entering his early prime. The Packers did not revisit the deal until the 2013 offseason, when Rodgers inked a five-year, $110MM pact. The initial extension holds a distinction as one of the better contracts a team has hammered out this century.
Before Week 1, Packers president Mark Murphy said it would likely take at least a half-season to begin to pinpoint Jordan Love‘s trajectory. The longtime Packers exec has since moved the goal posts a bit since those comments and followed GM Brian Gutekunst by indicating how pivotal this season’s second half will be to the franchise’s evaluation.
“It wouldn’t be fair to judge Jordan now since there are so many other factors that have contributed to the offense’s poor performance (e.g., dropped passes, penalties, mental errors),” Murphy said in a question-and-answer piece on Packers.com. “We should have a much better sense regarding Jordan at the end of the season.
“Young players often take time to find consistency, but we still very much believe in Jordan and are excited to see his continued development.”
Murphy also cited the experience around Rodgers when he took over, referencing receivers Donald Driver and Greg Jennings along with tackle Chad Clifton and running back Ryan Grant. While Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon represent experience, with the former residing as one of the better Packers skill-position players this century, this Green Bay edition lost David Bakhtiari for the season and played a stretch without Elgton Jenkins. The team also bid farewell to experienced wideouts Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb this offseason, seeing both team up with Rodgers with the Jets. The Packers’ receiving corps consists entirely of first- and second-year players, with rookies Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft comprising the team’s top tight end duo. The inexperience issue came up multiple times this offseason, but the Packers refrained from adding a veteran to help the young group during Love’s first starter season.
Although Murphy reminded the Packers had seen enough from Rodgers to extend that extension offer by this point in his first starter season, the veteran exec praised Love’s makeup and leadership qualities. Through eight games, the fourth-year passer has not impressed. Love ranks 25th in passer rating, 22nd in QBR, 25th in yards per attempt and last (among qualified passers) in completion percentage (59.6). An accurate outing against the Rams brought Love’s completion rate to that point, and the Packers are coming off a 20-3 win.
An organization expecting to strike gold on a third consecutive passer is obviously a longer-odds proposition. The Packers’ 1992 Brett Favre trade and 2005 Rodgers draft choice set them up like no team before it, at least in terms of duration. The team’s decision to trade up for Love in 2020 generated scrutiny, and with the move coming without Gutekunst notifying Rodgers, that selection led to the parties’ relationship fracturing. By not taking a player capable of helping immediately, the Packers also punted on the chance to strengthen a team that had ventured to the prior year’s NFC championship game.
Gutekunst certainly took a risk by trading up for Love, who led Division I-FBS in interceptions in 2019. The Packers will give the Utah State alum more time. In lieu of picking up Love’s fully guaranteed 2024 option, the Packers gave Rodgers’ successor a two-year deal worth $13.5MM. Escalators exist within the deal, but Love is currently tied to a $5.5MM base salary and $7.76MM cap number for 2024. That is a favorable rate for a starting quarterback beyond his four-year rookie deal, but Love still has plenty to prove in order to command another Packers extension.
The Packers have the youngest roster in the NFL so obviously it will take time for the players to develop some continuity and get on the same page. The NFC North division is in a state of flux currently with every team dealing with uncertainty in various areas. There’s no reason for panic in Green Bay.
Gotta let him finish out the season….there’s no harm in it at this point.
Either he’s gonna start getting it and he’ll be the QB to lead the team in the future
Or
He’s another Zach Wilson and we can just tank the season for another high draft pick that Gute can screw up for us.
But I don’t see any reason to bench him for Clifford yet.
Zach was 2nd overall. Jordan was 20 picks later. Not alot of comparison. And jordan is already better than zach
I don’t think that it was meant to be a direct comparison.
“Hes another zach wilson”
Meaning, he would be a highly drafted disappointment, not Zach Wilson exactly.
As a Steelers fan, this Sunday will be interesting. I applauded the selection of Pickett but truly believe that after 21 starts, he’s a bottom-5 starter and Love is better
Guess we’ll see
Lacking quality experience and/or talent on an offense that has desperately needed some for the last several years sounds like an obvious failure of the general manager, I would say.
And a lack of health for Jones, basically the entire o-line, and Watson who is on his 5th setback in a season and a half.
Still concerns me Love cannot seem to throw an accurate ball more than 8 yards in the air.
Yup. He’s got legitimate excuses, but wow is he inaccurate. He’s not putting anyone in a position to succeed, and that is the biggest reason he will not succeed himself.
Yup I’ve been mad since that draft… Here’s a stat from Loves college career… 27% of every pass he through was deemed uncatchable.. almost a third of his passes not even close to a receiver…
I mean duh? Why would they want Love to succeed prior to signing a sweetheart deal so they can allocate more funds to other positions?…They want him to fail so they can sign him to a 6 year 60mil contract too lol…Im not a greenbay fan…but i like the business model get a QB cheap
Theres succeeding and then theres simply showing promise. So far he has done neither to the point I’m not even sure I would offer a next contract.