NFL Trade Rumors: Green Bay Packers Quarterback Jordan Love Won't Practice Without Extension

The Green Bay Packers are at an impasse with their most important player. Speaking with the media on Monday, general manager Brian Gutekunst revealed that quarterback Jordan Love's camp informed the team that the fifth-year quarterback will not practice without an extension.

Jordan Love will not practice until he has a new deal, Brian Gutekunst says. Love’s camp informed Packers of that decision Saturday.

Gutekunst says a deal could get done in the coming days, but you never know. Says big deals take time.

“I feel we’re close.” pic.twitter.com/yeW5ScbUMm
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) July 22, 2024

Gutekunst suggested that the Packers and Love were close to a deal and that something could materialize in the coming days. However, he also noted that deals of this magnitude take time.

The Packers took Love 26th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft with an eye to the future, hoping he could eventually replace incumbent quarterback Aaron Rodgers. It took until 2023 for Love to open a season as the starter, but he delivered: Love led the Packers to the Divisional Round of the playoffs while throwing for 4159 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in the regular season.

The Packers ought to be thrilled with Love. Even without drastic tweaks to their roster, they were a markedly better offense under Love than in Rodgers' last season with the team, improving in points scored (370 to 383), yards gained (5745 to 5873), and giveaways (22 to 18).

That all being said, Love is just about as inexperienced as a player could be heading into a major extension. With only 18 starts to his name, Love has certainly demonstrated promise, but it's impossible to know at this point how much he can still improve. His 2023 season was a pleasant surprise, but he'll need to be even better if the Packers are going to become a perennial contender.

Given the nature of the quarterback market, the Packers have likely missed an opportunity to land Love at a discount. It's difficult to argue at this point that he's any less valuable than Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who signed a staggering five-year, $275 million extension earlier this offseason. Even with a modest 9-9 record to start his career, there's a real chance Love could become the highest-paid player in the league when he inks his extension.