Quarterback Jordan Love has been patiently waiting for his turn to become the starter for the Green Bay Packers. The team traded up in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft to select him in the first round, but he has been stuck on the depth chart behind Aaron Rodgers for the first three seasons of his professional career.
With Rodgers now a member of the New York Jets, it is time for Jordan Love to showcase what he can do. In his first three seasons, he appeared in only 10 games, making one start, and throwing 83 total passes.
Despite most of his reps thus far as a professional being in practice and preseason games, Jordan Love is ready to get going. Sitting for as long as he did only made him that much hungrier to get out there and perform.
“I feel more hungry than ever,” Love told Sports Illustrated‘s Matt Verderame in an exclusive interview. “Honestly, having that time to wait, the waiting just makes [me] more and more hungry for when you finally get out there.”
While the Packers took an eerily similar path with Rodgers when he was selected late in the first round in 2005 and replaced Brett Favre in 2008, who was also traded to the Jets, no one could have foreseen the events that would unfold since Love had his name called in 2020. Rodgers won back-to-back MVP awards in 2020 and 2021, keeping Love glued to the bench.
But, after an underwhelming 2022 season, which was the first under Matt LaFleur that the team didn’t win 13 games or make the playoffs, it was time for a change. Love has had no problems biding his time as he knew this would come eventually.
“It’s definitely what I’ve kind of been waiting for,” Love said. “It’s one of those things, and he [Rodgers] talked about it, too, everybody kind of knew it was going to happen. It was just a matter of when and what kind of happens with it, so it was just that waiting game. I was happy it’s finally my time, and I’m grateful for that.” (H/T Doric Sam of Bleacher Report)
Jordan Love now has some big shoes to fill, replacing a future Hall of Famer. The Packers have had incredible luck with the quarterback position over the last three decades, going from one Hall of Famer to another.
The Packers are certainly hoping to make it three for three with Jordan Love becoming the next quarterback sensation to don the green and gold. But, that level of expectations won’t be placed upon him. They want to see the Utah State product carve out his own legacy that hopefully results in plenty more winning in the foreseeable future for the franchise.