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Rob Demovsky, ESPN staff writer
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers and Jordan Love may be nearing an agreement on a contract extension, but until that is finalized, the starting quarterback will not participate in any preseason practices or games.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said Monday just before the team’s first practice that Love’s representatives informed him of their plans Saturday night before a deal was struck.
“We completely understand where he’s coming from,” Gutekunst said.
Love reported to training camp on time and participated in meetings and other training camp activities, except for practice. Previously, Love participated in the entire offseason program and the team’s mandatory minicamp in June to meet requirements for a $500,000 workout bonus.
When asked if an extension could be achieved within a few days, Gutekunst said: “Yes, I think so, but again, you never know. We are working very hard to make that happen. At the same time, I am confident that we both want the same thing.”
The Packers have no immediate plans to add another quarterback. Coach Matt LaFleur said second-year pro Sean Clifford will handle the first few snaps with the starters, but reps will be split 50-50 between Clifford and rookie Michael Pratt. LaFleur said former NFL quarterback Sean Mannion, who was hired as an assistant coach this offseason, will help with throws during the drill.
When asked how long they can keep that up without adding a third quarterback, LaFleur said, “That’s a good question. Obviously we’re hoping that we can get something done here in the next … sooner rather than later. But that’s something that we’ll just have to adjust on the fly.”
LaFleur said he wasn’t immediately concerned that Love and the offense would lose the momentum they built last season and in the offseason.
“I know how he prepares,” LaFleur said. “So I’m not too worried about that.”
Without a new deal, Love would have earned just $11 million this season in the final year of a mini-extension he signed last May. That deal added a year, the 2024 season, to his rookie contract. It was in lieu of the team picking up the fifth-year option on that deal. Green Bay gave Love a signing bonus of $8,788,655 at the time. His base salary for this past season was $1.01 million.
Love is now on the hook for one of the league’s richest contracts and looks set to join the $50 million-a-year club. The most recent quarterback deal was Trevor Lawrence’s with the Jacksonville Jaguars in June. It’s a five-year, $275 million deal with $200 million in guarantees. At $55 million a year, Lawrence and Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals are tied for the highest average salary in the league.
Love threw for 4,159 yards with 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions last season. He was one of four quarterbacks in the 2023 season to rank in the top 10 in passing touchdowns (second to Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys), passing yards (seventh) and touchdown-to-interception ratio (seventh).
He started all 17 games and after a 2-5 start, the Packers finished 9-8 to make the playoffs. Love led them to a wild-card victory over the Dallas Cowboys in which he threw three touchdown passes and no interceptions before a divisional round loss to the San Francisco 49ers, which ended with Love interception on the final drive.