Packer Central

Packers-Colts Wednesday Injury Report: Door ‘Pretty Open’ for Love

Jordan Love did not practice for the Green Bay Packers on Wednesday as they begin on-field prep for Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Bill Huber

Malik Willis at Packers practice on Wednesday
Malik Willis at Packers practice on Wednesday / Bill Huber/Packers On SI
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – With one notable exception, only one member of the Green Bay Packers did not practice on Wednesday.

Jordan Love.

Love suffered a knee injury during the final seconds of Friday’s season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

On Monday, coach Matt LaFleur wouldn’t close the door on Love playing on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.

After Wednesday’s practice, is that door still open?

“I’d say it’s pretty open,” coach Matt LaFleur said rather emphatically.

Love was not inside the Don Hutson Center for the pre-practice warmup and was not outside for the 8 minutes of individual drills that reporters were allowed to watch.

Usually, reporters are sequestered inside the Hutson Center for the first period of practice. On Wednesday, reporters were led outside the Hutson Center for that first period. Potentially, Love went through some sort of rehab workout behind closed doors, though that would only be speculation.

“He’s doing a nice job,” LaFleur said. “He’s spending a lot of time in the training room. Our guys have done a great job with him but, at the same time, like I told you guys, he’s got to be cleared. We’ve got to feel like he can protect himself and he’s got to be confident enough to go out there and do that. Until that happens, we are not even going to think about that.”

LaFleur said Love would not have to practice to play in the game.

With Love sidelined for practice, Malik Willis and Sean Clifford are the only available quarterbacks, with Willis expected to start against the Colts on Sunday and Clifford set to be either elevated from the practice squad or promoted to the active roster.

Wednesday’s practice was the first of the week; they’ll practice again on Thursday and Friday.

Love avoided a major injury and suffered only a sprained MCL when he was twisted awkwardly to the turf in the final moments against the Eagles. Rehab, not surgery, will be the pathway for Love to return to the starting lineup.

As LaFleur said, Love will have to be cleared by a training staff that typically is cautious with most injured players. With Love being the new franchise quarterback and signing a $220 million contract extension, the team figures to be especially cautious.

“Until he gets cleared, those conversations don’t exist,” LaFleur said. “We will never put him in a position to mortgage the short term for the future. You know what I’m saying? If he can’t protect himself, we would never do that to him or our football team.”

As it stands, Willis seems poised to make his first start since Dec. 24, 2022. A third-round pick in 2022, he started three games as a rookie.

Willis has thrown passes in eight career games. He is 35-of-67 for his career – 52.2 percent – with zero touchdowns, three interceptions and a 48.7 passer rating.

However, he is coming off a strong preseason in which he completed 74.1 percent of his attempts.

The Packers acquired him for a seventh-round pick on Aug. 26. By Sunday’s kickoff, Willis will have been with the team for 20 days.

How will he know enough of the playbook for the offense to function?

“It’s not like we’re dealing with a rookie here that has no background,” LaFleur said. “A lot of these offenses do similar things. It’s just how do you do them? When do you do them? Who are you putting where? So, we take that all into account.”

Running back MarShawn Lloyd, who was the only injured inactive for Friday’s game, was back at practice. He suffered a hamstring injury during the first game of the preseason and missed the final couple weeks of training camp.

Packers Wednesday Injury Report

Did not participate: QB Jordan Love (knee).

Limited participation: CB Corey Ballentine (oblique), DT Kenny Clark (toe), RB Josh Jacobs (back), RB MarShawn Lloyd (hamstring).

Full participation: LB Edgerrin Cooper (knee).

Colts Wednesday Injury Report

Did not participate: S Julian Blackmon (shoulder), DT DeForest Buckner (back), DE Kwity Paye (hamstring).

Limited participation: WR Josh Downs (ankle).

Full participation: K Matt Gaye (hernia).

More Green Bay Packers News

LaFleur’s backup QB history | Odds will be stacked against Jacobs | What channel for Packers-Colts? | Packers-Colts matchups | Packers sign receiver | Packers sign tight end | Consensus NFL power rankings | Willis will start if Love’s not cleared | Three reasons to believe after Week 1 win | Three reasons to worry after Week 1 loss | Ryan Tannehill to the rescue? | Can Willis save the season?

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Bill Huber

BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packer Central, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.