The Packers are working out quarterback Josh Love, who was the starter for Michigan Panthers of the USFL in 2023.
The Green Bay Packers hosted a workout for quarterback Josh Love of the USFL’s Michigan Panthers, according to Aaron Wilson.
Unsettled at quarterback behind Jordan Love, the Packers continue doing work on potential upgrades at the position.
Love, 26, went undrafted out of San Jose State in 2020. He spent time with the Los Angeles Rams and Carolina Panthers before joining the USFL, where he played in three games for the Pittsburgh Maulers and 13 games for the Michigan Panthers between 2022 and 2023.
This past season, Love completed 143 of 236 passes for 1,556 yards, 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions over nine games in the USFL. He threw 17 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions over two seasons in the developmental league.
His final season at San Jose State saw Love completed 60.9 percent of his passes and throw 22 touchdown passes against eight interceptions.
The Packers currently have fifth-round pick Sean Clifford, 2018 draft pick Danny Etling and 2023 USFL MVP Alex McGough competing to be Jordan Love’s backup. The team recently worked out former Colts quarterback Jacob Eason.
Could another J. Love join the Packers depth chart?
Per Rob Demovsky of ESPN, the Packers also worked out receiver Darion Chafin and guard Parker Ferguson.
From a Carolina Panther to a Michigan Panther, QB Josh Love set a new USFL record for the highest completion percentage in a single game on Sunday.
Uh . . . maybe the Carolina Panthers had the answer for their problem under center on the roster after all. Okay, fine, maybe not—but one of their former practice squad quarterbacks just did something pretty darn cool.
On Sunday, Josh Love of the Michigan Panthers (once a Panther, always a Panther, it seems) completed 18 of his 20 passes in his team’s 29-13 win over the Houston Gamblers. That efficient body of work—which translated into 215 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions—equates to a new USFL record for the highest completion percentage in a single game.
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound passer got his first taste of pro football in 2020—signing with the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent out of San Jose State University. He was, however, waived prior to the start of the regular season—on Aug. 25.
Love found his way to Carolina the next season, joining as a practice squad member on Nov. 2, 2021 following the shoulder injury to starter Sam Darnold. He was then released exactly one week later.
The 26-year-old wound up with the other Panthers (of Michigan) after the Pittsburgh Maulers—who selected Love in the 12th round of the 2022 USFL draft—released him on May 10, 2022.
The Panthers released QB Josh Love on Tuesday, one week after signing him to the practice squad.
The abysmal play of Sam Darnold has had many fans questioning the future of the quarterback position for the Carolina Panthers. Well, we know one guy who probably won’t be in it.
As first reported by Darin Gantt of Panthers.com, the team released quarterback Josh Love on Tuesday. The release comes one week after Carolina signed the 25-year-old to its practice squad.
Love entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Rams in 2020. The San Jose University product was named the MWC Offensive Player of the Year in 2019, as he passed for 3,923 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Head coach Matt Rhule said Love’s signing, at the time, had nothing to do with Darnold’s questionable status leading into the Week 9 matchup against the New England Patriots. Love was, apparently, someone the organization “liked” well beforehand.
Unfortunately for him, Rhule and the Panthers didn’t like him enough. But they do, apparently, like offensive lineman Aaron Monteiro—who was brought back to the practice squad in place of Love.
With Sam Darnold dealing with a concussion, the Panthers plan to sign a QB leading up to their Week 9 contest against the Patriots. And, no, it’s not Cam Newton.
Given the uncertain and sensitive nature of concussions, the Carolina Panthers may not know exactly when they’ll have Sam Darnold back. So, they signed up for a little insurance on Tuesday.
As first reported by Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, the Panthers will be adding quarterback Josh Love to their practice squad.
With Sam Darnold in concussion protocol, the #Panthers are adding a quarterback …
They're signing former San Jose State and #Rams QB Josh Love to the practice squad, source said.
This move, of course, follows the fluid status of Darnold—who exited Sunday’s 19-13 win over the Atlanta Falcons after sustaining a hit to the head. Backup P.J. Walker, for the second straight week, took over in his absence for much of the fourth quarter.
Love, who joins fellow passer James Morgan on the practice squad, will presumably serve as that insurance while Carolina gauges the health of Darnold throughout the week. The 25-year-old broke into the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of San Jose State University with the Los Angeles Rams in 2020.
In 2019, Love passed for 3,923 yards and 22 touchdowns with the Spartans. He was named the MWC Offensive Player of the Year for his efforts.
Love, additionally, is not the quarterback most of you have probably been hoping the Panthers would sign.
Rosters won’t be settled until the start of the regular season as teams continue to shuffle their 80-man squads during training camp. The Los Angeles Rams made a handful of moves Tuesday, the most notable of which was waiving quarterback Josh Love.
Along with Love, they cut linebacker Bryan London. To take their roster spots, the Rams brought back Daniel Bituli, who they originally signed as an undrafted rookie this year, and added linebacker Derrick Moncrief, who went undrafted in 2017 and spent some time in the CFL.
With Love being waived, fellow undrafted rookie Bryce Perkins appears to have grabbed hold of the QB3 spot. It’s not yet clear how many quarterbacks the Rams will carry this season, but if they bring three into Week 1, Perkins will be the third guy behind Jared Goff and John Wolford.
Bituli was signed in April and waived at the beginning of August, but the Rams appear to be searching for options at linebacker. He’s a physical thumper who’s better against the run than the pass, but he could contribute on special teams, too.
As for Moncrief, he was a CFL All-Star in 2019 after recording 73 tackles for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He also picked off three passes, had four sacks and forced a fumble. Moncrief signed a futures contract with the Raiders this January but was waived in May.
The Rams will now have just two games to evaluate their three unproven backup QBs.
The Rams have put an alarmingly large amount of faith in three quarterbacks who have never taken a snap in the NFL as backup options behind Jared Goff. They currently have John Wolford, Bryce Perkins and Josh Love as candidates to replace Blake Bortles as Goff’s backup, though all three of them went undrafted in the last three years.
It’s hard to be confident in that group of unproven players, especially with the NFL now trimming two weeks from the preseason. That means the Rams will have even less time to evaluate their backup quarterbacks in game action, raising even greater concerns about the situation.
Wolford is the most experienced of the bunch and has a slight edge as of now, but he’s only attempted 44 preseason passes in his career. Perkins and Love went undrafted this year and have proved nothing in the NFL just yet.
While they must understand the league’s approach to the preseason, the Rams can’t be thrilled about the league trimming two games from the schedule. Wolford, Perkins and Love needed as many reps and as much playing time as they could get, but now they’ll have to split reps across just two games.
Will the Rams give Wolford significantly more playing time in the preseason, knowing he’s the top candidate for the backup job? Or will they evenly split the reps and hope one of the three players emerges in a big way as the clear-cut choice to back Goff up?
Even with four exhibition games, the backup quarterback group was a major concern; Gil Brandt of NFL.com called it one of the NFL’s biggest roster holes. Now, it’s an even bigger red flag.
The Rams should strongly consider signing a veteran to come in and compete for the backup job. Blake Bortles spent last year with the Rams and should have a firm grasp of Sean McVay’s system. Matt Moore stepped in for Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City and kept the Chiefs afloat for a few weeks last year.
Both players would be decent options for the Rams, at least giving them a decent fallback plan in the event that all three of their young quarterbacks struggle in camp and the preseason. This is certainly a situation worth monitoring.
Josh Love shared a childhood photo that shows he’s been a Rams fan for a long time.
Josh Love probably dreamed about making it to the NFL one day, and after a decorated career at San Jose State, he’s reached the pinnacle of the sport. Love signed with the Rams as an undrafted free agent following the 2020 draft, landing in a spot where he could compete to back up Jared Goff.
Playing for the Rams was likely part of the dream Love had, considering he’s been a fan of the team since he was little.
Love shared a childhood photo on Twitter this week, which showed him sitting at the top of a bunk bed with a St. Louis Rams pennant on the wall and a Dodgers hat hanging over the railing.
Love grew up in Mission Viejo, Calif., and went to high school in Long Beach. He stayed out west for college at San Jose State, where he put up huge numbers in 2019: 3,923 yards, 22 touchdown passes, eight interceptions.
That level of success came after he walked onto the football team at San Jose State and earned a scholarship after redshirting his freshman year. Being an undrafted free agent, Love is still a long shot to stick with the Rams in 2020, but he has to be thrilled about even making it this far.
You know the names at the top. Joe Burrow. Tua Tagovailoa. But the NFL Draft has seven rounds. Who are the top sleepers for the 2020 Draft?
The hay, as they say, is in the barn.
Here at Touchdown Wire, we have made you as ready as possible for the start of the 2020 NFL Draft. We have broken down our top 11 at each position. We have put together our top 50 overall players, along with a list of comparisons for each player, to get you ready for Thursday night. We have assembled various film breakdowns, watched tape with prospects, and given you a variety of mock drafts to game out various scenarios.
But the work goes on, and the dream never dies.
By “the dream,” we mean the NFL hopes for players that might not be included in those previous pieces. Players that might not have cracked a top 11 at their position. Players that might not break into a top fifty list, and players that might have to wait until Friday or even Saturday to see how their NFL story begins.
Part of the reason that people love sports is the underdog story. Rocky. Rudy.Miracle. Movies that capture our attention are rooted in pulling for the longshot. Before they became the Evil Empire, the New England Patriots were the crappy underdog, led by a sixth-round sleeper of a quarterback, taking on the Greatest Show on Turf. It is why people love March Madness, as it taps into our love of Cinderella stories, and why we still get choked up when Gene Hackman says his team is on the floor.
In that spirit, here are some of the best sleepers in this draft class. Underdogs that might not hear their name called until late on Saturday, but players that have both NFL dreams, and NFL potential.
Logan Wilson, LB, Wyoming
(Troy Babbitt-USA TODAY Sports)
Logan Wilson cracked Touchdown Wire’s list of the top 11 linebackers, but as we get closer and closer to the draft the Wyoming defender might be moving even higher on draft boards. Wilson received just one scholarship offer coming out of Natrona County High School in Wyoming, despite being a two-time All-State performer at both defensive back and wide receiver. But after a redshirt year, Wilson was slotted into Wyoming’s defense as a linebacker, and never looked back. Over his four years on campus he played 3,618 snaps, which is almost a Cal Ripkenesque number in today’s college game.
On the field, Wilson is a smart, experienced and patient linebacker who is ready to take on the responsibilities asked of him in an NFL defense. Wilson is a sure tackler between the tackles in the run game, moves well as a blitzer and handles his coverage responsibilities well. Over his career he tallied ten interceptions, an impressive number for any college linebacker. Given the need to stop the pass, linebackers who can both cover and still stop the run are a desired commodity, and Wilson checks both of those boxes.
Beyond that, Wilson checks some of the throwback desirables at the position. If you are a coach or a general manager that loves seeing a linebacker standup a lead blocker in the hole, shed him at the point of attack and make the tackle, then Wilson is going to get you excited.
But he can also contribute plays like this, one of the more amazing moments from the 2017 college football season:
Wilson has the coverage chops and experience to handle the pass defense aspects of the position, but the nose for the football, along with the stack and shed requirements, that will allow him to play on both first and second downs in the league. Perhaps it is no surprise that in Bob McGinn’s pre-draft piece on the linebackers (his pre-draft series is must-read every year) a scout told him that Wilson is a starter with a chance to play every snap given his experience.
