As the Green Bay Packers wait for Aaron Rodgers’ answer, a top running back on the team believes Jordan Love can be their top quarterback.
The 2023 league year officially begins on March 15. With days remaining, the Green Bay Packers fanbase is waiting for some form of confirmation regarding who will be their starting quarterback. Aaron Rodgers, who won four NFL MVP awards during his time with the team, is currently pondering his future, determining if he would like to remain with the team, play elsewhere or retire. If Rodgers does move on, the Packers have a starting option on the roster in Jordan Love, their 2020 first-round pick.
If Packers fans were apprehensive about Love’s potential as a starting quarterback, a top running back on the team has given him a vote of confidence.
In an interview with The Spun’s Tzvi Machlin, A.J. Dillon said that he is confident Love can be the team’s starting quarterback of the future.
Packers: A.J. Dillon gives vote of confidence in Jordan Love
“Absolutely (he can be a leader),” said Dillon, h/t The Spun. “Jordan Love is a good friend of mine. He was a good friend of mine before I even got drafted – we trained together through the same agency – so we were getting together since we got out of college. I actually came across a video of him throwing me a pass the other day before the Combine, just getting ready. So I’ve known him for a while.
“I will say this about him: The way he’s approached the whole situation and over the last couple of years, it speaks to the type of character that he has. He’s never out here complaining or taking to Twitter. He’s a leader in his own right, through his actions, showing up every day.”
Dillon was Green Bay’s second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. In the round prior to that, the Packers moved up to select Love, presumably to be their quarterback of the future. The pick was talked about a lot, considering Rodgers was still on the roster. He has been with the team during Rodgers’ holdout ahead of the 2021 season, and when the veteran quarterback signed a three-year, $150.8 million contract extension last offseason.
In his three years with the team, Love received one start, and that was in the middle of the 2021 season against the Kansas City Chief, as Rodgers was ruled out due to testing positive for COVID-19. It was a close game for the Packers, but they ended up losing 13-7. In that game, Love completed 19-of-34 pass attempts for 190 yards and one touchdown, while also throwing an interception.
This past season, Love had a promising showing against the Philadelphia Eagles, completing six-of-nine pass attempts for 113 yards and a touchdown in the 40-33 loss.
While the Packers may have to wait for Rodgers’ decision, they do have a looming decision to make regarding Love. By May 1, they will have to decide whether they will exercise his fifth-year option, or allow him to hit free agency after the 2023 season. Heading into the league year, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said that they were excited about Love, but said that the now fourth-year quarterback”needs to play.”
Whatever Rodgers decides, the Packers have have no problem pivoting to Love as their starter.
