Jordan Love injury scare raises questions about Packers preseason

For a brief moment, Green Bay Packers fans held their breath.

The Athletic's Matt Schneidman reported that Jordan Love was "walking gingerly" and had his knee looked at by trainer Bryan Engel. Schneidman did his best to reassure fans by adding the injury didn't look serious, but it's a sobering reminder of how quickly everything can change.

Packers fans remember the pain of the 2015 preseason. A seemingly harmless reception turned into a season-ending knee injury for Jordy Nelson, quickly derailing the team's hopes. Without him, Green Bay's offense lost rhythm and struggled to get out of first gear for much of the season. The Packers did enough to clinch a wild-card berth, but they weren't the same without Nelson.

An injury to Love would result in a far gloomier outlook.

Head coach Matt LaFleur confirmed Love will play in the preseason, but should he?

Should Jordan Love play in the Packers' preseason?

Memories of the Packers' 38-3 humbling at the hands of the New Orleans Saints and a similarly disappointing 23-7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in consecutive season openers may have influenced LaFleur's decision. Green Bay held out its starters in the preseason those years and stumbled out of the gate when Week 1 arrived.

Last year, LaFleur gave his starters extensive preseason snaps, resulting in an emphatic Week 1 victory at Soldier Field.

However, it's not that simple. The preseason is all about risk-reward.

LaFleur said he will be "smart" with the starters. That's easier said than done. Fortunately, Love didn't suffer a significant injury during Thursday's practice, but it's a reminder of how quickly one play can result in disaster.

Preseason reps help, but Aaron Rodgers was a firm believer that the most important work took place on the practice field.

"In practice, playing against our defense, it's multiple looks, fronts, personnel groupings, pressures, coverages," said Rodgers in 2017. "That to me is more what you're going to see in a game than preseason."

The risk of injury? Very real.

LaFleur is unlikely to change his stance based on Love's injury scare, and it's the risk-reward every team has to deal with. Preseason presents the opportunity to gain valuable reps, but the potential risk is significant.

It has been a week of injury scares, including for Love and star receiver Christian Watson. Thankfully, they are both OK, but it does raise questions about the preseason.

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