The Green Bay Packers clinched a playoff spot on Christmas when the Detroit Lions lost to the Minnesota Vikings. While the Packers remain alive in the race with the Chicago Bears for the NFC North title, the Packers need to win their remaining two games to have a chance at the division crown.
And that first game will come without their starting quarterback.
Jordan Love, who left Green Bay’s Week 17 loss to the Bears with a concussion, was ruled out by the team on Friday. While head coach Matt LaFleur was optimistic earlier in the week that Love would be able to play, the team downgraded him to out on Friday. In addition to the concussion, Love is also dealing with a shoulder injury.
You can see the hit that knocked Love out of the Week 16 meeting with Chicago here:
Love is not the only Packers quarterback dealing with an injury. Backup Malik Willis, who replaced Love in Week 16, suffered a shoulder injury in that game. Green Bay listed Willis (who is also dealing with an illness) as questionable earlier in the week, and he did not practice on Wednesday due to the illness.
However, Love told reporters on Tuesday that he expects to be ready for the game against Baltimore.
Now, he is in line for the start.
If Willis cannot go, Green Bay will likely turn to Clayton Tune. LaFleur had high praise for the reserve quarterback earlier this week.
“He’s been doing a great job,” LaFleur said. “He’s been traveling with us on the road. He’s gotta pretty good grasp. He’s a smart guy. He attacks it the right way. He spends a ton of time with Sean Mannion post-practice trying to get extra reps, trying to work on his fundamentals and techniques.”
