Despite the knee injury he suffered in last Friday’s season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Green Bay Packers are keeping quarterback Jordan Love out of Week 2. It was initially believed Love would miss several weeks with a sprained medial collateral ligament. However, coach Matt LaFleur said Monday that they will give Love every opportunity to play in the Packers’ Week 2 game against the Indianapolis Colts. If Love is not cleared to play, Malik Willis will be the starting quarterback.
“If Jordan doesn’t get cleared, we’ll put Malik in and Sean (Clifford) will be the backup,” LaFleur said Monday.
LaFleur did not provide a percentage of Love’s chances of playing, but said he is doing “everything I can” to return as soon as possible. LaFleur said they will be cautious with Love and obviously won’t put him in a situation where he can’t defend. The Green Bay head coach also confirmed that Love will not be placed on the injured reserve list.
LaFleur indicated they received relatively good news regarding Love’s injury after returning from Brazil. Based on his comments, it appears the franchise quarterback is in a week-to-week condition.
If Love is unable to play against the Colts, the team has confidence in Willis as their backup. Willis, who was acquired from the Tennessee Titans on Aug. 26 in exchange for a seventh-round pick, has appeared in 12 career games, throwing for 350 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions.
“He put in a ton of time and effort. He put in the work. He learned the terminology and he can call the shots, and we have confidence in him,” LaFleur said. “I think if you give him a full week of preparation, a full week of practice, I have confidence he’s going to go out there and play at a high level.”
