The Green Bay Packers opened training camp Monday ahead of the 2024 season, and one player was noticeably not participating: starting quarterback Jordan Love.
Love did not practice and will continue holding out as contract negotiations go on for the former Utah State star, who’s headed into the final year of his current deal.
“This is something that we’re all working on,” Green Bay GM Brian Gutekunst told reporters before the team’s first practice Monday, per CBS Sports.
“We certainly understand where he’s coming from. We’d like him to be out there. It’s important for him to be out there. Obviously, you guys know how important practice is and working with his teammates. As of now, until we get that resolved, he will not be practicing. He reported last week and is taking part in everything else.”
ESPN reported that Love’s representatives informed Gutekunst of their plans Saturday night, while adding that Love is still taking part in meetings and other training camp activities — several videos and photos on social media showed him at practice Monday, just not participating.
What are Jordan Love’s contract details?
In May 2023, Love signed a one-year contract extension with the Packers — in lieu of Green Bay picking up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract — as he headed into his first season as Aaron Rodgers’ replacement.
Love received a $8,788,655 signing bonus at the time, and his base salary for the 2023 season was $1.01 million, according to Spotrac.
He’s currently set to make $11 million this season, though a new deal would change that.
The 25-year-old Love is in line to become one of the highest paid players at the quarterback position once a new deal is signed — Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow are both earning a league-leading average of $55 million per season on their current deals, while Detroit’s Jared Goff is making an average of $53 million per year, per Spotrac.
Other quarterbacks making more than $50 million per year include the Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert ($52.5 million), Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson ($52 million) and Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts ($51 million).
What did Jordan Love do in his first year as a starter?
Love led the Packers to the playoffs in his first year as a starter. Green Bay won a wild-card matchup against Dallas before losing to San Francisco in the NFC’s divisional round.
During those two postseason games, Love completed 67.3% of his passes for 466 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.
After a bit of a slow start during the regular season, Love ended the year on a tear, completing 64.2% of his passes for 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while leading Green Bay to wins in six of their final eight games. He also ran for 247 yards and four touchdowns.
Who is getting the reps during Jordan Love’s holdout?
Packers coach Matt LeFleur told reporters that second-year pro Sean Clifford will take first snaps with the team’s starters in Love’s absence, according to ESPN, but that reps will be split 50-50 between Clifford and rookie Michael Pratt.
ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reported that Green Bay doesn’t have any immediate plans to add another quarterback during training camp, and that LeFleur isn’t overly worried right now about Love missing time.
“I know how he prepares,” LaFleur said. “So, I’m not overly concerned about that.”
What are key upcoming dates for the Green Bay Packers?
Green Bay players reported to training camp over the past few days, and the team opened training camp Monday. The Packers will play their first preseason game on Aug. 10 at Cleveland.
Following two more preseason games, the Packers will open their 2024 regular season against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 6 at Arena Corinthians in Sau Paulo, Brazil.