Final Packers injury report for Week 3 provides a clue about Jordan Love's status
Matt LaFleur refused to give a clear indication of whether Jordan Love will return for the Green Bay Packers' game against the Tennessee Titans in Week 3, but the final injury report provides some clues.
Love's official status is questionable, but digging deeper could help us reveal some more hints.
When asked if the medical staff had cleared Love, LaFleur said they were "working through" it. That's different from his previous answers. The Leap's Peter Bukowski believes that LaFleur's wording "strongly suggests" Love is cleared, and it's hard to argue with his point. LaFleur had no problem telling us when Love wasn't cleared, but he changed his answer this time.
Another clue could come from the other players listed on the injury report.
Five offensive linemen were on the injury report, but only Jordan Morgan carries a designation. The Packers ruled out their first-round pick, but the other four players are good to go. That's significant. It's hard to imagine the Packers would've felt comfortable starting Love if they didn't have Rasheed Walker, Elgton Jenkins, or Zach Tom available.
Packers final injury report provides potential clues about whether Jordan Love will play
Player | Injury | Status |
|---|---|---|
Kenny Clark, DT | Toe | - |
Kingsley Enagbare, DE | Groin | - |
Josh Jacobs, RB | Back | - |
Elgton Jenkins, G | Illness/Glute | - |
Tucker Kraft, TE | Shoulder | - |
Jordan Love, QB | Knee | Questionable |
Jordan Morgan, T | Shoulder | Out |
Josh Myers, C | Ankle | - |
Jayden Reed, WR | Calf | - |
Zach Tom, T | Quadricep | - |
Carrington Valentine, CB | Ankle | Doubtful |
Rasheed Walker, T | Shoulder | - |
Love will have a say in whether he plays.
"There's definitely a lot that's up to him," said LaFleur. "You don't want to put anybody in that position, but he's doing everything in his power. He wants to be out there more than anybody. We'll work through it, we'll give it up till game time, and we'll see."
Love won't be 100 percent even if he plays, so LaFleur will need another creative game plan. Replicating last week's success with several unscouted looks will be more challenging against the Titans, who had seven days to prepare for the run-heavy approach.
The Packers are smartly keeping Love's status secret. Maybe they genuinely don't know if he will play, but they are certainly not providing any more information than they have to. It keeps the Titans guessing. It's hard to game plan defensively if you don't know whether you're facing Love and the typical Packers offense or the alternative version we saw with Malik Willis under center.
Love suffered a sprained MCL in the Packers' season opener in Brazil only two weeks ago. Initial projections suggested he would miss three to six weeks, but Love has made excellent progress since then. Sunday's game against the Titans falls just 16 days after the injury.
Packers fans feared the worst when Love went down. Not only had they lost their opening game to the Philadelphia Eagles, but they now faced the prospect of a multi-week absence with no victories in sight. Green Bay found a way to win its first game without Love, and it could now get him back with a 1-1 record.
So, we wait. For now, all we can do is read into LaFleur's wording and the status of the offensive linemen. But maybe, just maybe, LaFleur provided us a clue that Love will start in Week 3. Time will tell.
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