After watching the videos from Friday night in Brazil, it looked like Jordan Love may have suffered a horrific knee injury. As it turns out, he dodged a major bullet. Medical tests revealed he didn’t tear his ACL, which would’ve ended his season. However, he didn’t escape unscathed. The Green Bay Packers quarterback suffered an MCL sprain. While further tests are forthcoming, it is believed he will miss somewhere between 3 and 6 weeks, depending on severity. While that is good news for his long-term prospects, it still isn’t great for the Packers.
The next three games on their schedule were supposed to be some of the easiest they’d face. It starts with the Indianapolis Colts at Lambeau Field, led by unproven quarterback Anthony Richardson. Then it was a trip to Tennessee against a Titans team that just cleaned house this off-season. Lastly, it was back home for a matchup versus Sam Darnold and the Minnesota Vikings. With Love, the Packers likely would’ve won at least two and probably all three of those games. Without him? Things get far, far murkier.
Willis seems like a dangerous gamble to replace Jordan Love.
Don’t forget the Packers only just traded for him last month. He hasn’t had much time to absorb the offense. No doubt coaches had expected they could bring him up to speed steadily during the season. Love’s injury throws that plan right out the window. There is also the fact that Willis, while boasting a gifted arm, isn’t exactly good. He started three games as a rookie in 2022 and went 1-2 despite throwing three interceptions and no touchdowns. He has some value as a runner but not anything special.
Green Bay has a talented team. They likely feel Willis can do enough to keep the ship afloat until Jordan Love returns. Here’s the problem. If they somehow lose the next three games to start the year 0-4, things get way tougher even after he returns. The next five games before the bye week feature matchups with the Rams, Texans, and Lions. All were playoff teams last year. That doesn’t include Arizona and Jacksonville who have pretty good quarterbacks.
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It seems that the Packers’ steadfast belief that their franchise quarterbacks never get hurt has finally cost them.
