Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love is practicing again for the first time since he injured his left medial collateral ligament, but the team is being cautious about his chances of playing on Sunday against Tennessee.
Love participated in limited practice on Wednesday, but the Packers did not share specific details about his activity level. When asked about Love’s workload, coach Matt LaFleur simply said, “he was limited.”
“I’m going to take the week and just take it day by day and see how it feels, but I’m not going to make any decision on that right now,” Love said. “I’m hopeful that I’ll get to that point where I can get in there, but we’re just going to take it day by day and see.”
Love did not practice at all last week and did not play on Sunday in a 16-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts, marking the first game he missed since becoming Green Bay’s starting quarterback last season.
He hurt his knee during the third-to-last play of the Packers’ season-opening 34-29 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on September 6 in Brazil.
Love was pressured by Jalen Carter and Josh Sweat while trying to throw a backward pass to Josh Jacobs. Carter was on the ground holding Love’s left leg when Sweat pushed him down.
“I was telling people it’s the most pain I’ve been in,” Love said. “So, you know, just a lot of emotions, but definitely very painful and didn’t know in the moment what might have happened, what the injury actually was, how long I might be out.”
Love admitted he was worried about how serious his injury was while flying back to the United States.
“I tore a meniscus (in my right knee) in college, but I’ve never had an ACL (tear) or anything like that, so I didn’t know what that felt like, didn’t know what that might be,” Love said. “A lot of thoughts went through my head, for sure.”
He didn’t realize at that moment that he would be practicing again in less than two weeks.
“You can see that he feels more comfortable just moving around the building, the way he was out there today,” backup quarterback Malik Willis said.
One of the challenges Love faces is that he will likely play with a brace on his knee. Love mentioned he has done this before when he had his meniscus injury during college at Utah State.
“It’s a piece of metal on your knee, so you’re definitely not as fast, but it’s one of those things that you just got to adjust,” Love said.
“It’s going to help protect me and keep me stable in everything I do, so it might change my game a little bit, but at the end of the day, I’m not a receiver that has to run all these crazy routes downfield, things like that.”
If Love cannot play on Sunday, Willis would step in to face his former team. The Packers traded for Willis from Tennessee (0-2) for a 2025 seventh-round draft pick, a deal that was announced on August 27.
“We have to prepare to go play the Packers offense, whether it’s with Malik or with Jordan,” Titans coach Brian Callahan said. “Schematically, it varies a little bit, but at the end of the day, we have to do our jobs well.
We have to execute, be fundamentally sound, and if you spend too much time worrying about that part of it, you lose track of what we need to be for our identity and our defense.”
Willis completed 12 of 14 passes for 122 yards, with his first career touchdown pass and no turnovers against Indianapolis. He also rushed for 41 yards on six carries, as the Packers focused on running the ball while Love was out.
The Packers ran the ball 53 times for 261 yards, achieving their highest rushing total since 2003 and their most carries since 1978.
“I think what we did last week gives everybody more confidence going forward if I’m not cleared this week,” Love said. “So I love that. I love that we got the ‘W’ and it’s a big confidence boost moving forward into this next week.”
