In his monthly Q&A post at the team’s website, Green Bay Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy said to expect ups and downs during Jordan Love’s first season as a starter but also expressed confidence in Love’s development as a quarterback and potential to be good right away given his experience behind Aaron Rodgers over the last three seasons.
Murphy’s full answer on expectations for Love in 2023:
With regard to Jordan, I would tell our fans to remember that this will be his first year as a starter, and that there will be a learning curve. That said, though, Jordan has benefited greatly by playing behind Aaron Rodgers for the last three years (much like Aaron learned from watching Brett Favre). Having watched him in practice the past three years, I have seen significant growth in Jordan (particularly in his confidence) and think he is ready to play. Also, he has benefited greatly by taking most of the snaps with the first team offense in the last two offseasons, as well as in preseason games the last two years. Although it was very limited, his play in the Eagles game last year was very encouraging. I’ve also been very impressed with how Jordan has handled himself over the past three years. He never complained and continued to work hard to improve his game. Most recently, I have seen Jordan step forward as a leader. There will be ups and downs this year, but it will be exciting, and we’re confident in Jordan.
Rodgers threw 59 passes during his first three seasons before taking over for Brett Favre as the starter in 2008. Love has thrown 83. He did start a game on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021 and was impressive in a backup performance against the NFC champion Eagles in 2022.
Rodgers went 6-10 in 2008 but proved to the Packers he was the right guy at quarterback moving forward. Love’s Packers have a wide range of potential outcomes in 2023, but outside a championship, the most important aspect of the season will be evaluating Love’s long-term outlook at the game’s most important position.
Murphy has it right: Expect inconsistency, but the Packers are confident Love is ready for this opportunity. New is exciting, and the new-look Packers are getting a fresh start at quarterback with a first-round pick who got three years of on-the-job training behind a future Hall of Famer.
