Packers Injury Updates, Including Jordan Love, After Beating Colts

What’s the status of quarterback Jordan Love headed into this week’s game against the Titans? And injured rookies Jordan Morgan and MarShawn Lloyd?

Injured Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love is shown during the first quarter of their game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – At some point this week, there might be some drama regarding quarterback Jordan Love’s return to the Green Bay Packers lineup.

Not on Monday, though.

A day after Malik Willis helped the Packers beat the Colts 16-10 on Sunday at Lambeau Field, coach Matt LaFleur said he had no update on the status of Love’s knee and availability for the Week 3 game at the Tennessee Titans.

“I have no idea right now,” LaFleur said on Monday. “They’ll let us know. I did see Jordan in the training room. I know he’s doing everything he can. If he’s ready, he’ll be ready. And if he’s not, then we’ll proceed with Malik.”

LaFleur claimed he hadn’t even talked to the medical staff, which somehow seemed unlikely considering Sunday’s game ended 24 hours earlier and he probably had spent much of the day at the stadium.

Regardless, LaFleur didn’t have an update on Love or first-round pick Jordan Morgan.

Morgan, who had been rotating with Sean Rhyan at right guard, didn’t play the second half against the Colts because of a shoulder injury. A shoulder injury kept Morgan from playing in any of the three preseason games; it’s not clear if this is the same injury or the same shoulder.

Another rookie, running back MarShawn Lloyd, made his NFL debut after missing the final two preseason games and Week 1 due to a hamstring injury. However, his return to action lasted just 10 snaps due to a sprained ankle.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” he said on Monday of his status for this week. “I’m walking pretty good, I’m doing everything pretty good. Just a day-by-day thing. I’m excited for what’s to come.”

It’s been a miserable start to Lloyd’s NFL career. Like the rest of the rookies, Lloyd arrived for training camp a few days early. He suffered a hip injury during one of those early workouts and missed the start of training camp. In the preseason opener against Cleveland, he got two touches before suffering a hamstring injury.

Now, it’s an ankle – meaning he’s been sidelined three times before the third game of the season.

“Every time I get frustrated, I have a guy like Josh Jacobs,” said Lloyd, who rushed six times for 15 yards. “He knows, he’s been through it. Every time I say something about it or I’ll come up to him and I’ll say like, ‘Can’t catch a break,’ Josh will stop me right in the nick of it and be like, ‘It happens.’

“Like he said yesterday, who cares? Who cares? That’s something that I really like that he said to me. ‘Who cares? Just do what you can do. Accept the adversity and just get better.’ At the end of the day, there’s going to be something that comes good that comes out, so I’m just taking things day by day and, eventually, I’m going to be ready to go.”

As for Love, LaFleur no doubt would like some certainty sooner rather than later. Monday is about correcting the film from the victory over Indianapolis while Tuesday will be about putting together the game plan to face the Titans.

To state the obvious, those game plans would be incredibly different. With Willis behind center, the Packers ran the ball 53 times – the team’s most since a 13-7 victory over Detroit in 1978 in which David Whitehurst threw only nine passes. Since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, that was Green Bay’s fifth-most carries.

Willis started against the Colts just 20 days after being acquired in a trade from the Titans. With an additional week in Green Bay, would LaFleur be comfortable opening up the playbook if necessary?

“We did open up the playbook,” LaFleur said with a straight face.

But through the air? Willis was 12-of-14 passing; at one point, the team had 16 runs and one pass.

“I thought there were some certain circumstances where we did,” LaFleur said. “He had a really good checkdown where he had Tucker (Kraft) to start the third quarter. The situation was third-and-5 and we threw a go ball to Rome, and Rome made a play [for 39 yards], and there was one later in the game where it was third-and-6 and he threw the out route to (Dontayvion) Wicks, where Wicks made a really nice grab on the sideline.

“So, the plan going into the game was to run the football, and we were able to do that. I think every game could be a little bit different in terms of just the complexion of the game. I thought we were playing really well for three-plus quarters defensively and then we gave up the late touchdown. So, I think the complexion of the game factors into some of the play calls that you would call.”

Last week, LaFleur said he’d allow Love to play without practice reps. How about this week?

“We’ll see how it kind of plays out,” he said. “Ideally, in a perfect world, if he’s going to play, you’d like him to get some reps in, especially I think, it would be two weeks. That’s a long time.”

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Here are three takeaways from the #Packers' victory over the Colts. ⬇️https://t.co/iN6exCyBUr

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 16, 2024

Three Packers-Colts overreactions | Defense delivers vs. Colts | Josh Jacobs brings the heat | Report card: Packers-Colts grades | Malik Willis plays role to perfection | Matt LaFleur earns career highlight | Stock report: Who’s up? Who’s Down? | Vomit, sweat and tears | Game story: Packers 16, Colts 10