Breaking down the Packers QB Jordan Love left knee injury analysis and outlook
Our NFC North division rivals got a Brazil-sized scare on September 6, 2024 as Green Bay Packer’s Jordan Love went down late in the fourth quarter with a left leg injury.
On initial look, it appeared that Love suffered a routine left high ankle sprain and he still might have. Further slow motion replays showed a visible sudden pop in his left knee.
This pop was reminiscent of what we saw in the first week last year with Aaron Rodgers’ Achilles.
The next day, Ian Rapaport revealed that Love had “between a grade 1 and grade 2 MCL sprain” which translates to a partial tear. The most severe sprain is a grade 3 which is a complete tear.
As with all publicly released health reports, be aware that there is no obligation to release all the details of the injury or any corollary injuries. This means it is possible there are other injuries to the knee area or ankle that were not disclosed.
The early reports of a three to four week recovery fits a mild-moderate MCL sprain with no complications. Also, there appears to be no concern at this time for a significant ankle injury.
KNEE POP ANALYSIS
So does a partial MCL tear fully explain the knee pop? Possibly. But there could be something else going on as well.
Here are some possibilities that could cause a visible pop:
LIGAMENT RUPTURE
Ligaments hold two bones together so a rupture can cause a bone to suddenly shift like with Love’s MCL. Lions fans saw this happen with Emmanuel Moseley’s ACL last year. Fortunately, Love avoided an ACL tear.
TENDON RUPTURE
A pop can be seen with a complete tendon tear which causes the associated muscle to suddenly retract like with the aforementioned Aaron Rodgers’ Achilles or Kirk Cousin’s Achilles last year. There are many ligaments, tendons, and bands around the knee so it’s possible that Love could have injured one of them in addition to the MCL.
PATELLA DISLOCATION
A patella that dislocates and jumps out of the trochlear groove could cause a sudden pop. On video, it looks like this may have happened with Love.
Most patella dislocations will spontaneously reduce which means it falls back into place without any intervention. Thus we would not necessarily have seen the medical staff put the patella back in place.
In 99% of patella dislocations, the medial patellofemoral ligament is torn which would show on MRI. Love and the Packers very likely know at this point whether he had a patella dislocation.
MUSCLE SPASM
A muscle spasm caused by cramps could be sudden enough to look like a pop. Love had been experiencing calf cramps for much of the game but it’s the quad muscles that would have had to be involved in this case.
OUTLOOK
After a scary-looking knee event, the outcome is about as good as could be hoped. MCL’s tend to heal well on their own without surgery. Love could return from his mild-moderate MCL sprain anywhere from two to six weeks, with three to four weeks being most likely. There should be no long-term issues.
If he had a patella dislocation without complications, the expected return is about three weeks. Patrick Mahomes in 2019 and Matthew Stafford in 2009 both returned in three weeks from patella dislocations. (Stafford technically was four weeks as the last week was a bye.)
Love also may have suffered a mild left high ankle sprain. There does not appear to be any concern about the ankle so he likely would not miss any time if this was the only injury.
In eight weeks on November 3, the Packers play the Lions for the first time and there is a good chance Love will be fully recovered by then.
