Why would the Green Bay Packers be ready to transition away from the Aaron Rodgers era at quarterback? A big piece of the puzzle: his heir apparent.
Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy echoed Friday what the organization has been saying all offseason: The team is confident Love is ready to be the new starting quarterback in 2023.
“Yeah, we have a lot of confidence in him,” Murphy told Adriana Torres of WBAY in Green Bay. “We drafted him and developed him. A lot of credit goes to our coaches, and to Jordan. But we do think he’s ready.”
Murphy’s response fits perfectly with what coach Matt LaFleur, general manager Brian Gutekunst and other Packers teammates have said about Love to start this offseason.
The path for Love to start next season would be cleared if the Packers trade away Rodgers, a scenario – it would seem – is fully in the works based on Murphy’s comments from the WIAA girl’s state basketball tournament on Friday.
Murphy said the two sides are trying to find a “win-win” resolution, but the team’s preference is clearly a transition to Love.
The Packers shocked the NFL would by trading up to take Love in the first round of the 2020 draft. Rodgers responded with back-to-back MVP seasons, but an injury-riddled and disappointing 2022 season – combined with rapid development from Love in Year 3 – opened the door to a change at quarterback.
Love threw 83 passes (three touchdowns, three interceptions) over 10 regular season games (one start) during his first three seasons. For reference, Rodgers threw 59 passes (one touchdown, one interception) over seven games (zero starts) during his first seasons (2005-07).
