Coming in to a decisive third season, Jordan Love has had limited chances thus far to prove he is capable of being the heir to Aaron Rodgers. Despite Rodgers signing a three year extension this offseason, it in essence is set-up to continue to be a year-by-year commitment. The 2022 season will be huge for the Packers and Love, as the decision on his 5th year option will have to be made next May.

Love was finally able to see some live action in 2021, playing in 2 preseason games and 2 regular season games. The results were kind of a mixed bag. In the preseason especially, he flashed the arm talent that made him worthy of a first round pick. He also showed ability to stay within the pocket and go through his full progression when given the time to do so.

Conversely, he still had some head scratching decisions that he will have to eliminate in order to succeed in the NFL. And part of that comes from continuing to speed up his processing. The Chiefs game was the biggest example of this. The Chiefs brought a lot of pressure on Love, and he struggled when forced to make quick decisions outside of the original play structure. It’s hard to put too much blame on Love for that game, when the Packers only had 4 days to prepare with Love as the starter.

But the next two months will be a different story. Especially after the release of Kurt Benkert, Love should once again get the majority of reps throughout camp and the preseason games. The Packers will undoubtedly be looking for another step forward for Love. Those glimpses of talent will have to start to become more frequent if Green Bay wants to commit to Love, or at least recoup any assets for him.

Ian Rapoport reported that the Packers were listening to trade offers for Love this offseason, but clearly still value him in their system. Rodgers has obviously missed time throughout his career, and having a backup with three years in the offense is valuable. But if he truly is going to be next in line to the throne for the Packers, he will need to show consistency with his decision making and accurary.

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Jared is a rogue Packers fan from a Steelers family and an overall football junkie, including playing 4 years at Ithaca College. You can follow him on twitter at @JPrugar.

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