In the Week 1 matchup over in Brazil, a Jordan Love injury occurred on the final plays of the game, then dominated headlines afterward. The Green Bay Packers spent this offseason making him one of the highest-paid players in the league, and a mediocre performance followed by an injury is not how fans thought the season would begin.
It became clear a knee injury occurred, but the severity was unknown. And frankly, the severity continues to be relatively unknown.
Love was diagnosed with a sprained MCL. Initially, he was thought to be out for 3-6 weeks. This made him an obvious candidate for short-term IR, as it would shut him down for four weeks while opening a roster spot. However, Love did not go on IR, bringing an eventful week full of speculation.
Jordan Love Injury Update Brings More Questions
Throughout the week, plenty of news reports of optimism have come out of Green Bay. Some reports even indicated that Love could play in the home opener against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Of course, some correctly diagnosed this as gamesmanship from the Packers, as it would be ridiculous to believe Jordan Love would play a week after suffering a sprained MCL.
Now, the new Jordan Love injury update is that Love could miss the “next several weeks.” This would indicate the first injury timeline is closer to accurate.
But if Love is to miss 3-5 weeks now, why wouldn’t he simply go on IR? This suggests Jordan Love could be ready in three weeks, and the Packers want to make sure they can bring him back as soon as possible. Starting in Week 4, the Packers’ next opponents are the Vikings, Rams, and Cardinals. Clearly, these will be important games for Green Bay to win.
Of course, it also would not be surprising to see the Jordan Love injury keep him out for at least four weeks. We would chalk this up as yet another mismanaged situation by Brian Gutekunst and the Green Bay Packers.
For now, Malik Willis looks to be the starter on Sunday. He will likely be operating with a limited playbook. How do you think Willis will play on Sunday, and when do you believe Jordan Love will be back?