LaFleur Doesn’t Believe Love Will Change Now That He’s Highest-Paid QB

The Green Bay Packers head coach praised the quarterback's consistent approach and mindset to the game that earned him the trust for Green Bay to sign him to a four-year extension.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) high fives head coach Matt LaFleur after throwing a touchdown pass during the second quarter of their game against the Chicago Bear Sunday, January 7, 2024 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. / Mark Hoffman?Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Along with his natural talent, Jordan Love's consistency with his process and approach earned the quarterback his four-year, $220 million contract extension with the Green Bay Packers.

When the Packers drafted Love in 2020, they knew he had the potential to become one of the NFL's top quarterbacks. Over his first four seasons with the team, he's proved to the team he has the right mindset deserving of the trust Green Bay is placing in him with the massive extension.

"He always had the talent," coach Matt LaFleur said Saturday. "There’s a reason he was drafted in the first round. I mean, the talent was always there. It’s just the consistency which he would go out there and perform."

As Love developed his skills and adjusted to life in the NFL, he also improved his work ethic to become the face of the franchise.

"I could see a different, I don’t want to say a different approach, but I felt like he was, as time went on, he got more and more intentional about his work and you could see him learning and doing different things each and every day."

With only one year as Green Bay's starter, Love has the same command of the team expected out of an experienced veteran. He can make the rest of the team around him better.

"He’s got such a great command of right now is he’s got such an unbelievable command of our offense," LaFleur said. "He knows all the details, the ins and outs. He can help the other guys. He can coach the other guys up on the field. It’s pretty impressive.”

Love made strides during the 2022 season, his final year backing up Aaron Rodgers, to arrive to his current form. His work in practice, the preseason along with limited action in the regular season provided LaFleur and the Packers with even more confidence in the young quarterback.

"That '22 season, you could just see more and more from him in regards to, although the numbers didn't say it, I thought he had a pretty good preseason in terms of how we evaluate the quarterback and its all process based, not results based," LaFleur said.

Once Love was handed the keys to the offense in the 2023 season, it was not a smooth road to success. The Packers started the season 3-6 and Love, along with the rest of the offense, had plenty of struggles that overshadowed flashes of potential. LaFleur, however, believes this period only made Love and the Packers better.

"I think even going through our struggles, we were probably better for it going through some struggle, I think most people are, you go through some struggle, you stay resilient, you come out the better side usually better for it and I think there's a lot of growth and learning along the way and he just, the back half of the season he played as well as anybody in the league."

This resiliency is a key trait of Love that LaFleur makes him such an important leader for Green Bay. He's showed it when he had to wait his turn for three years before starting and when facing doubts before and during the 2023 season.

"The thing that's so impressive about him is just is how resilient he is, never gets fazed, just continues to fight and I think that say a lot about and I think that's a big reason why were standing here today talking about him," LaFleur said.

LaFleur is confident that Love, still just 25 years old, will not change now that he's the highest paid quarterback in NFL history.

"It goes back to to whom much is given, much is expected, and that's just the reality of our league," LaFleur said. "But I think he'll embrace that. I don't think you'll see a difference in the person, and I don't think we'd do something like that if we felt that way."

LaFleur praised Love's personality further, saying it leads to him earning respect from his teammates for more than just his performance on the field.

"I think he’s been raised the right way. ... He’s been raised the right way, I think he’s about the right stuff, and his teammates really certainly respect him. They respect the man, they respect the work he puts in."

With Love's contract negotiations in the rearview, he'll be back out to practice for Green Bay Saturday for the Packers' first practice in pads. LaFleur said that he's been throwing every day after practice, even during his hold in.

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