An offseason wrecked by the coronavirus pandemic could make life extra difficult for Green Bay Packers rookie quarterback Jordan Love during his first NFL training camp.
Without a rookie minicamp or an in-person offseason workout program, Love will go to camp without some of the early but beneficial experiences rookie quarterbacks always get during a regular offseason.
Quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Luke Getsy can see how those missed opportunities will put Love a little behind the eight ball during his first camp.
“Yeah, it’s going to be a demanding training camp for (Love and undrafted rookie Jalen Morton) because they don’t even know exactly what the drill is that we’re going to do yet,” Getsy said, via Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated. “They’ve only seen a video of it. They don’t know what it feels like for any of that stuff. They haven’t had to say a cadence or say a play in the huddle with the team. I think all those firsts are what you really enjoy about rookie minicamps and OTAs, and then the veteran minicamp, getting around the vets and seeing and hearing how Davante (Adams) talks about a route or runs a route and what it’s supposed to look like, and watching Aaron (Rodgers) throw and watching his rhythm and his feet. I just think there’s a lot of value in all that, in seeing that, that those guys are going to miss.”
Love participated in the Senior Bowl in January but hasn’t had an organized, in-person practice with his new team. He missed out on all the valuable on-field work associated with a typical offseason and has had to settle for getting mental reps during a fully virtual workout program.
Love, the 26th overall pick in the 2020 draft and a possible successor to Aaron Rodgers, will battle Tim Boyle – who is entering his second season in Matt LaFleur’s offense – for the top backup job. If Love can’t catch up during camp and Boyle wins the competition outright, the Packers would have to keep three quarterbacks on the roster or risk having a young and inexperienced quarterback with a limited grasp on the offense as the No. 2 quarterback behind Rodgers, who turned 36 last December.
More than anything, Love is missing out on opportunities to transfer what he’s learning in virtual meetings to the field with actual teammates and coaches present. Of course, he’s also missing out on chances to sit back and watch how Rodgers, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time, operates during a real practice setting.
The Packers will hope Love can bring a strong understanding of the offense to camp, allowing the physical side to catch up during hot summer practices and preseason games. It’ll be a challenge, but all young players are dealing with the same challenges and Love – despite being a first-round pick – isn’t expected to play right away.
The Packers can be confident they’ll get everything from Love once he’s finally in the building.
From Utah State coach Matt Wells explained to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic how Love will carry himself every day.
“What the Packers are getting is a quarterback that wants to learn, is willing to learn and he’s very capable of coming in and progressing in an NFL system,” Wells told Schneidman. “But he’s a guy that’s a great teammate. He’ll walk in the facility and he’ll work. He’ll gain respect from those around him by how he treats them as well as his work ethic.”
Love just has some catching up to do once camp rolls around in late July.