The Green Bay Packers will not have their starting quarterback on the practice field for at least the first day of training camp.
Jordan Love’s agents have informed the team that he will not be suiting up for practice until he has a contract extension in place. The team was informed of the quarterback’s decision to hold out Saturday, general manager Brian Gutekunst told reporters ahead of their practice Monday.
Gutekunst seemed optimistic that Love’s decision would only be temporary and expects a contract resolution soon.
“I think so,” Gutekunst said when asked if Love could be back practicing in the next couple of days. “You never know, but we’re working really hard to get that done. I think it’s really important for us. At the same time, the thing I have confidence in is that we both want the same thing. We want Jordan here for a long time — gives some stability for him and it gives us some stability for our group as well.
“I’m optimistic. These are big deals, it takes time. They’re not as easy as some people may think.”
Gutekunst continued to stress that the Packers have no doubts about Love’s ability as a quarterback. Rather, they also want to get a deal that allows them to build the best team possible.
“We know that he’s our franchise quarterback,” Gutekunst said. “We’re ready to move forward. It’s not like we’re trying to make that decision. But at the same time, we want to put the best team around him that we can. We want to make sure there’s certainly the structure of it so that we can do what we need to do for our football team moving forward, not only this year, but for years to come. It’s very, very important.”
As the two sides have been negotiating an extension for much of the offseason, Gutekunst said the team wasn’t blindsided by Love’s decision.
“It’s not unexpected,” Gutekunst said. “We’ll work to get it done. Hopefully, he won’t miss too much time. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We have a very good football team, but we’ve got to come together as a team, and he’s a big part of that.
“So, him being out there is important to us.”
When the Packers broke off for their summer break at the end of minicamp in June, Love told reporters that he was hopeful that a deal would be done when training camp arrived. Love was asked about the status of his extension talks during an event last week, but shot down any questions about the matter.
[Related: Why Green Bay’s Jordan Love will be the NFL’s ‘next great quarterback’]
The Packers gave Love a one-year extension with $13.5 million in guaranteed money and $9 million in potential incentives last offseason before he became the team’s starting quarterback. He wound up finishing the 2023 season as one of the best signal-callers in the league, throwing for 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions with a 96.1 passer rating.
Love’s improved play over the course of this season not only helped the Packers make the playoffs, but they also upset the Dallas Cowboys and nearly took down the eventual NFC champion San Francisco 49ers.
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