Jordan Love To Have Talks With Agent Concerning Next Steps If Rodgers Returns in 2023
What does this mean for the Green Bay Packers moving forward?
Hello everybody. The Packers bye week is finally over and the Packers slim playoff hopes are still alive!
This past weekend I went on a short rode trip down to Austin Texas to see one of my friends get married. After the wedding ended around 10pm I drove back to my hotel and opened up my instagram and this is what I saw posted by Lambeau Leapers (give him a follow, he’s got a great account).
Not going to lie, I was pretty shocked when I saw this.
I went searching through twitter to see where this information originally came from. It turns out that Packers reporter Jason Wilde recently had a conversation with Jordan Love. According to zonecoverage.com Wilde was on a show called “Homer and Tony” and this is what he had to say,
“I had a really great conversation with Jordan on Friday afternoon. I think he very clearly, even though he wouldn’t flat-out say it, he does not want to sit for another year. So, if we get to year four, and Rodgers does come back, I am fairly confident that he will seek a trade.”
Now we don’t know for a fact that if Aaron Rodgers returns in 2023 Jordan Love will seek a trade. This was just speculation based on what he had to say. This morning Wilde put out a full story on speaking with Jordan Love and here is a quote that I believe made him think Love could potentially seek a trade. Here is an excerpt from the article on what Jordan Love told Jason Wilde,
Asked if Rodgers comes back for the 2023 season if he really is willing to sit for yet another year, Love replied, “That’s something me and my agent will talk about. We’ll figure that out.”
It has to be hard for someone like Jordan Love who was drafted in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft to sit for 3 years when many other early round rookie QBs have had the opportunity to see the field much earlier in their career. Jordan Love could have just said that he is willing to sit for another year but he mentioned that he and his agent would talk about it.
Could this mean that Jordan Love is interested in seeking a trade if Aaron Rodgers returns in 2023? I think it very well could be a possibility. We don’t know this for a fact, but you can’t blame him if he did want to seek a trade. The more time that goes by the more he is wasting part of his NFL career. You never know how long your time in the NFL will last and I’d assume Love is itching to have the chance to be a starting QB in the NFL.
At the end of the day it all comes down to what happens with Aaron Rodgers. In the past week I stated in this newsletter that I think it is more likely that the Packers trade Aaron Rodgers than Jordan Love. Brian Gutekunst moved up to draft Love and it seems to me that Love has a massive ceiling. He’s been learning from Aaron Rodgers for 3 years and has had the same time to master Matt Lafleur’s offense. Part of me can’t see Brian Gutekunst trading him away.
I would honestly be sad to see Love go. But would the Packers really move on from Aaron if he wants to return? Brian Gutekunst said in the past week that they planned to have Rodgers back next year if he chooses to return. I do wonder if he is just saying this for optics. He likely wouldn’t state that they’d like to trade Rodgers when at the time they still have a chance to make the playoffs. Pete Carroll said the Seahawks had no intention of trading Russell Wilson and just two weeks later Russell got traded to Denver. So you can’t always trust what people have to say at the podium.
One interesting equation in this story is the fact that both Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love have the same agent, David Dunne. If you’re David Dunne this has to be a pretty odd situation. You have to represent the best interests of both Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love and at some point in the future Dunne will have to do everything in his power to get Jordan Love to start somewhere in the league. If Rodgers plans to play for 3 plus years and the Packers choose to stick with him there’d be no way Love doesn’t get traded.
So far it hasn’t been an issue because Jordan Love has been patient enough to sit behind Aaron Rodgers and learn from the QB wizard himself. Things do seem to be reaching a potential breaking point because Jordan Love is not going to be the backup forever.
If we look back a few years there is one situation in the NFL that is very similar to this one. Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo. Garoppolo was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2014 NFL draft by the New England Patriots. He also had the same agent as Tom Brady. Garoppolo ended up getting traded in October of his 4th season to the 49ers for a 2nd round draft pick. It is possible that a similar thing could happen with Jordan Love if Rodgers wants to play a few more years and the Packers want him back.
Here’s the thing, Jordan Love has a much higher ceiling than Jimmy Garoppolo. Don’t get me wrong, I respect Jimmy G and all that he has been able to do with the 49ers, but Jordan Love is just different. He is a better athlete than Jimmy G will ever be. Yes we don’t know how good Love is. We’ve seen glimpses but he hasn’t had the opportunity to show it consistently. I feel like if we end up trading Love he’ll win the team he goes to multiple Super Bowls. Can you imagine how that would feel as a Packers fan?? I would never stop banging my head against the wall. Please Brian Gutekunst find a way to keep Jordan Love.
I know that there are lots of people who are picking sides, whether it’s Aaron Rodgers or Jordan Love. Just because I want to see Jordan Love play for the Packers doesn’t mean I want to see Aaron Rodgers leave. It’s a tough spot to be in. Honestly I’m a little torn. I respect both guys equally and want to see things work out for both of them. It seems like Aaron and Jordan have a great relationship and I truly think they both want to see each other succeed. But at the end of the day they can’t both be starting in Green Bay.