Packers: Brian Gutekunst takes bizarre shot at Jordan Love

Jordan Love is officially QB1 for the Green Bay Packers but GM Brian Gutekunst didn’t make it sound like the team was thrilled about that. 

Aaron Rodgers is now a New York Jets. Perhaps more importantly for Green Bay Packers fans, though, that means that Jordan Love is now officially QB1 and will be the starter for a full season for the first time in his career.

Interestingly enough, though, him entering his first offseason as the starter leaves the Packers with a unique situation in that they have until Tuesday, May 2 to decide on the fifth-year option for the quarterback’s rookie contract. They have not made a decision either way yet.

When asked about that after the 2023 NFL Draft, though, general manager Brian Gutekunst addressed the matter in a way that was none too kind to his new starting quarterback, a player he drafted in the first round in 2020.

“It’s a lot of money for a guy who hasn’t played,” Gutekunst said. “But at the same time we’re moving forward with him.”

Packers GM Brian Gutekunst weirdly throws shade at Jordan Love

Objectively, Gutekunst is correct in saying that Jordan Love “hasn’t played”, having made one career start for a then-injured Rodgers in 2021 and then only seeing the field sporadically otherwise. It’s the stunningly unconfident second part of the response that really strikes a nerve, though.

After very clearly catering the post-first-round plans in the draft toward setting up Love and the offense with better weapons, it’s extremely strange for the Packers GM to then take the microphone and not express an ounce of belief in the team’s quarterback. That’s definitely not the right kind of message to send.

Moreover, while Gutekunst is worried about the money for a player who “hasn’t played,” the cap hit in 2024 for the fifth-year option for Love would be $20.272 million, per Over the Cap. If Love goes out, plays well in his first season as QB1, and the Packers don’t pick up his option, then they’re going to have to pay much more than that in 2024 to re-sign him based on the current quarterback market.

Even if Love is middling or bad, the Packers don’t have another option on the roster to bring in for 2024 right away, so chances are they’d end up re-signing him and giving him another chance anyway and allow this player who “hasn’t played” to garner more experience. Perhaps that deal is cheaper than $20 million, but at the same time, there’s a chance it’s not given that he’s a former first-rounder and if he were to show any flashes amid inconsistency.

If I had to guess, Gutekunst is going to swallow his words before May 2 and pick up the fifth-year option. That doesn’t make his post-draft comments on Jordan Love any less befuddling, though.