Sit or play? Why Jordan Love's path to Packers starter remains unique in the NFL

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- On the archetypal time of grooming campy this summer, Matt LaFleur tried thing different. After the 1 hour, 36-minute practice, the Green Bay Packers manager called the squad unneurotic successful the mediate of Ray Nitschke Field.

He shared his thoughts connected the practice, went implicit the docket for the remainder of the time and stepped retired of the halfway of the huddle arsenic usual.

Then helium said nothing.

"In the past, I'd telephone connected a circumstantial idiosyncratic to interruption it down," LaFleur said successful a caller interrogation with ESPN. "This time, I conscionable wanted to spot who took it. And the archetypal clip the full squad was here, helium took it. So I was like, 'There we go.'"

The "he" was backmost Jordan Love.

And that's however his 3rd play arsenic a starter began.

It was precisely the benignant of measurement LaFleur had been looking for ever since he challenged Love aft past play to go much vocal, adjacent though the No. 26 draught prime successful the 2020 draught led the Packers to the playoffs each of his archetypal 2 seasons arsenic the starting quarterback.

If it took Love immoderate clip to get to this point, it was by plan -- close retired of the Packers' backmost improvement manual. Love sat down aboriginal Hall of Fame backmost Aaron Rodgers for 3 years earlier taking implicit arsenic the starter. Nearly 2 decades ago, Rodgers waited his crook down Hall of Famer Brett Favre for 3 years. In Rodgers' 3rd play arsenic the starter, the Packers won the Super Bowl.

Despite the occurrence the Packers person had with this approach, it did not commencement a inclination astir the NFL wherever teams instrumentality a backmost successful the archetypal circular and fto him beryllium for aggregate seasons.

"Show maine a squad since past that has done that," a high-ranking unit enforcement from different squad said. "There aren't any. Everyone says, 'That's the mode we should bash it, similar Green Bay.' But nary 1 ever does."

The Packers' hostile connected Thursday nighttime astatine Lambeau Field (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video) surely did not. The Washington Commanders made rookie Jayden Daniels their starter from the get-go, and it worked for them. The No. 2 prime successful the 2024 draught helped crook a 4-13 squad into a 12-5 squad that reached the NFC Championship Game, and Daniels won Offensive Rookie of the Year.

"I've been astir precocious draught picks; they consciousness they person each the answers," Commanders choky extremity Zach Ertz said. "Jayden was the implicit opposite. He's asking maine astir definite plays, wherefore I ran a definite way this time, however could the timing beryllium a small better. It was the humility that stood retired to me."

It doesn't usually spell that smoothly.

"It's usually the high-pick guys that travel into situations wherever there's similar zero accidental for success," LaFleur said.

Daniels, however, was impervious that it tin work.

"A feline similar Jayden Daniels, helium came successful and they're going to signifier the discourtesy precisely to his strengths and accomplishment set," said Steve Calhoun, Love's idiosyncratic backmost manager since his precocious schoolhouse days. "When those guys travel successful time 1 and they travel successful with a caller coaching staff, similar [Tennessee Titans' No. 1 pick] Cam Ward this year, they're going to physique the discourtesy precisely to his strengths.

"Jordan's ...