Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love underwent a procedure on his left thumb and is expected to return to practice next week, general manager Brian Gutekunst said on Tuesday.
Gutenkunst said Love is dealing with a “ligament thing” after hitting his hand on a helmet when he was sacked by Jay Tufele in the Packers’ 30-10 loss in their preseason opener against the New York Jets on Saturday.
“We’re hoping to having him back next week,” Gutenkust said. “He shouldn’t miss any regular-season time.”
Love, who completed 1 of 5 passes for seven yards against the Jets, had his thumb taped and participated in Monday’s practice.
Head coach Matt LaFleur admitted he has never dealt with a ligament injury of this type and anticipates a “learning curve” with treatment and adapting to what his quarterback can do after he gets back on the field.
He said Love tried to “power through” practice on Monday. LaFleur noticed no impact on receiving snaps under center or in the shotgun on Monday, but said most of his handoffs were unconventional, using only his right hand.
“From what I’ve been understanding, it’s relatively quick recovery,” LaFleur said. “We’ll try to make the best of it. You don’t want anybody to miss practice, whether it’s a starter or backup. You want everybody there working on their craft, putting in the work to get better. When someone’s not there, it’s an opportunity for somebody else. You try to look at the glass half full and make the most of the situation.”
LaFleur said the injury would be a bigger factor if Love isn’t able to practice.
“Until he gets back here and see how he feels, obviously he’ll be out this week and I’ll put it at highly unlikely he plays (in the preseason game) against Seattle (next week),” LaFleur said.
In Love’s absence, Malik Willis will operate the first team. He won two games in Love’s absence recovering from a knee injury last season.
“I love what Malik’s been able to do in his short time here in terms of a lot of the core fundamentals that I think are critical in terms of producing good quarterback play,” LaFleur said. “Hopefully he can continue to progress.”
Love passed for 3,389 yards and 25 touchdowns against 11 interceptions in 15 games (all starts) last season.
Love, 26, has completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 8,154 yards with 60 touchdowns and 25 picks in 42 career games (33 starts) since being selected by the Packers with the 26th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.
He is 18-15 as a starter in his career.
The Packers open their regular season on Sept. 7 at home against NFC North rival Detroit.
–Field Level Media
