‘Dinged’ Throwing Shoulder Limits Love to One Half

“Obviously that one play, the strip-sack, just got my arm hit on that play and kind of just dinged my shoulder up a little bit,” Jordan Love said after Saturday's game.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The plan was for Jordan Love to play the first three quarters of the Green Bay Packers’ preseason opener against the Houston Texans on Saturday night.

Instead, Love played only the first half due to a shoulder injury sustained on Jonathan Greenard’s strip-sack just before halftime.

“Dinged” was the operative word following the Packers’ 26-7 loss.

“He kind of got dinged on that strip-sack and so we just thought it was best to let him rest the second half,” coach Matt LaFleur said.

LaFleur wouldn’t elaborate until getting more information from the training staff. Love, however, didn’t sound too concerned, saying his throwing shoulder felt a bit “strain-ish.” He said his night was cut short for “precautionary” reasons and that he expects to be in the lineup for next week’s preseason game against the New York Jets.

“I’m feeling good now,” Love said after his first game action in 572 days, the 2020 Senior Bowl in which he threw only six passes. “Obviously that one play, the strip-sack, just got my arm hit on that play and kind of just dinged my shoulder up a little bit.”

On Sunday morning, NFL Network Tom Pelissero said the hope is the injury is only a strain.

#Packers QB Jordan Love will get his throwing shoulder checked out today, but the hope is it’s just a strain, source said. Coach Matt LaFleur said last night Love’s preseason debut was cut short after he got “dinged” on a sack.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 15, 2021

Love finished 12-of-17 passing for 122 yards and one touchdown, good for a passer rating of 110.4 in his long-awaited NFL debut. He was sacked only once – the big play by Greenard. By the official stats, that was the only time Love was hit in his 18 dropbacks.

If Love’s injury is more severe than he let on, the Packers might have to go shopping for a quarterback before facing the Jets for joint practices on Wednesday and Thursday and for the second preseason game on Saturday. LaFleur has no intention of playing MVP Aaron Rodgers during the preseason – especially as he plans to hold starting offensive linemen Elgton Jenkins and Billy Turner out of the preseason. The only other quarterback on the roster is Kurt Benkert. The Packers had five quarterbacks on the offseason roster. One of them, Jake Dolegala, was claimed off waivers by the New England Patriots but released on Monday.

Benkert was 8-of-12 passing for 88 yards during the second half. He started hot with three consecutive completions on the opening series but turned it over on a botched handoff to Kylin Hill. He threw one interception, which came late in the game as he booted left and threw the ball to a tightly covered Chris Blair.

“Kurt did an excellent job,” LaFleur said. “Certainly, you’d love to have the interception back. I don’t think anybody was open on that one and he kind of forced it. And then also, I told him, and I don't know until I go watch the tape in terms of what happened on that fumbled exchange, but we cannot have that happen. So, those were two plays if I’m being critical about would be those two plays.”