16 July 2023 , 22:00
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Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love has earned the respect of his teammates after former QB Aaron Rodgers left the team to join the New York Jets.
Love is slated to be the starting QB for the Packers during Week 1 of the upcoming NFL season, despite having only 83 pass attempts under his belt thus far. However, the 24-year-old Utah State alumn has earned the respect of all his teammates in the Green Bay locker room.
The Packers have given the keys to their 2020 first-round pick after moving on from Rodgers following 18 seasons. Running back A.J. Dillon confirmed that the team supports Love, no matter what questions they may face.
"I think he definitely has all the intangibles. He's earned the trust of the locker room," Dillon told SiriusXM NFL Radio. "Guys respect him. Guys wanna play for him. Guys want to help him as much as they want to help themselves. Nothing's perfect in football. Everybody knows that. I think he's got a lot of support. Everybody would run through a wall for him."
Before Dillon's comments, second-year receiver Romeo Doubs complimented Love's skillset after Green Bay's mandatory off-season program workouts.
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"Jordan can do it," said second-year receiver Romeo Doubs. "When you go from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan, Aaron was a really great quarterback, but I believe Jordan can do the same exact thing. I don't really see what's the big difference."
Team cornerback Jaire Alexander labelled Love the " Best QB in the league."
Becoming a team leader and beloved locker room figure was a process for Love. He was drafted by the Packers in the first round in 2020, which put him in a difficult situation. Rodgers, the established quarterback, was already past 35 but had earned Pro Bowl honours in 2019 and won two league MVPs and a Super Bowl MVP.
Jordan Love takes reps as he leads the Packers offenseLove knew he needed to learn behind Rodgers and establish himself without stepping on the former Packers QB's toes. The Packers were still Rodgers' team at that point.
Still, Love kept quiet in the press and handled the situation professionally, with even Rodgers admitting that Love didn't ask to be put into the unfortunate scenario, calling him "a good kid." Love worked on his game for three years, showing improvements in his footwork, learning the playbook, and how to read advanced defences as expressed by the organization.
Last season, the coaching staff said they wanted more decisiveness and confidence in Love's game, making those areas a focal point of his improvements.
Love later revealed that the summer of 2022 was his toughest time. Rodgers had signed a three-year extension with the Packers, making him the highest-paid player in NFL history.
"I'll admit, I think the hardest time was when he re-signed the contract last year," Love told the media. "It was kinda like, 'OK, well, where do we go from here? What do I do?' And I think I sat back, thought to myself, and came back with the approach, "Let's just go ball out any opportunity I get."
"I'm gonna get preseason and who knows what happens after that, so just grow and try and become the best version of myself, and I can't really control what happens after that, so let it play out.'"