Aaron Rodgers won’t play in Packers’ preseason opener vs. 49ers
Aaron Rodgers won’t play in the Green Bay Packers’ preseason opener. Jordan Love will get the start versus the San Francisco 49ers.
In the least surprising bit of news of the entire summer, Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur announced that Jordan Love will start the opening preseason game.
As expected, it means Aaron Rodgers won’t feature in the preseason matchup with the San Francisco 49ers this Friday.
According to Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, it doesn’t sound like LaFleur will be making a decision on Rodgers playing preseason games until after the second matchup.
Matt LaFleur says Jordan Love will start Friday night in #Packers preseason opener at San Francisco.
— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) August 8, 2022
He says there's no decision yet on whether Aaron Rodgers will play this preseason. He doesn't expect to make that decision until after joint practices with Saints next week.
Based on that, we can assume Rodgers won’t play in the home game against the New Orleans Saints next week, either.
Last year, Rodgers and many of the key starters didn’t play in the preseason.
Protecting them from injury is the most important thing to consider. It was in 2015 that the Packers lost star wide receiver Jordy Nelson for the entire season in a preseason contest.
However, it’s also worth considering the Packers’ disastrous start to the regular season in 2021. Green Bay opened on the road versus New Orleans, losing the game 38-3.
Had Rodgers and the starters featured in the preseason, would they have been sharper in the opener versus the Saints? Possibly, but also perhaps not.
Some preseason snaps may not have helped at all.
And imagine Rodgers had played in the preseason but got injured. I’m sure LaFleur would take a 38-3 loss in Week 1 over a serious injury to a star player in the preseason.
What this means is that Jordan Love gets a tremendous opportunity.
Love should see the vast majority of the snaps throughout the preseason, which is important for his development. Getting reps on the practice field is great, but it’s even better to match up in real games against other teams.