The Green Bay Packers quarterback has a "50-50" chance of playing against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday after participating in padded practice on Thursday.
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With the Green Bay Packers' Week 3 matchup against the Tennessee Titans looming, the status of quarterback Jordan Love remains uncertain. However, Love's recent progress has raised hopes that he may return from his MCL injury sooner than expected.
Jordan Love's Return from Injury May Be Imminent
On Thursday, Love participated in the Packers' padded practice, marking a significant step in his recovery process. This comes after a limited participation in a padless practice on Wednesday, which was his first time hitting the practice field since sustaining the injury in the Packers' Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur characterized Love's status as a game-time decision, saying, "We’ll give him up until kickoff, 90 minutes."
Love himself expressed optimism about his recovery, stating, "I'm feeling a lot better." However, he acknowledged that he is taking his injury "day by day" and was unsure of his status for Sunday's game.
Despite Love's positive signs, his progress has come as a surprise. Initial reports indicated that he would miss at least three weeks and could be out for as many as six weeks. Love admitted that the thought of his season being over crossed his mind when he suffered the injury.
"When it happened, it was one of those things that was very scary," Love said. "Not knowing what happened. I had a torn meniscus in college, but I've never had an ACL [injury] or anything like that. I didn't know what that felt like. I didn't know what it might be. So, a lot of thoughts."
Love has been wearing a protective brace during practice, indicating that he is still not fully recovered. LaFleur did not disclose whether Love was working on a rep count. Love acknowledged that practice alone may not fully prepare him for game action.
"There's just nothing like when it's live bullets, you're in the game and that rush is real, so there's a lot of things I might not experience before I get back in the game," Love said.
Regardless of whether Love plays on Sunday, his rapid progress is a positive sign. It increases the likelihood that he will be ready for the Week 4 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, a crucial early-season clash with the Vikings starting 2-0.
The Packers have several important games in the following three weeks against the Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals, and Houston Texans. Ideally, they would prefer to have Love, one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL, starting in each of those contests.
If Love is unable to play on Sunday, backup quarterback Malik Willis, who was acquired from the Titans in August, is expected to start. Willis downplayed any potential revenge factor against his former team, stating, "I could care less, man. I think I got paid the whole time I was there. I'm more than blessed for the opportunities given me. They brought me into this league, whether those guys are there or not. That organization, they took a shot on me."
