There aren’t many players in the NFL who understand what Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love is going through. He has the tall task of replacing a legend at his position, as the Packers traded Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets this offseason.
Rodgers knows what it is like to replace a future Hall of Famer, as he followed in the footsteps of Brett Favre, who was also traded to the Jets. That is double the pressure on Love, who has 30 years of Hall of Fame production to follow up.
Another player who knows that feeling was someone that Love and the Packers faced off against last week; Mac Jones of the New England Patriots. He was a first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the long-term replacement for Tom Brady, who had moved on in free agency the year prior.
Jones opened up about it last week. He admitted that he is “trying to chase the standard that (Brady) set every day” and would tell Love “just continue to grow and be yourself” in the role that he is taking over this season.
Love has been receiving advice from plenty of people this offseason, including Rodgers and Hall of Famer Peyton Manning. He also had a response to what Jones said about following the standard that has been set.
“I mean, I think, like he said, the standards have been set from the quarterbacks that have been here before us,” Love told reporters, as shared by Sean T. McGuire of NESN. “Obviously, we’ve had some really great quarterbacks here. The standard is kind of set and you’re trying to continue to raise your game until you get to that bar and continue to go past it once you get there.
“With standards, I don’t think it means you have to try and play like somebody else,” Love continued. “It’s just kind of what’s been done here, what’s happened in the past. And you can see something that’s been done at a really high level and that’s where you want to take your game to.”
There is a lot of pressure on Jones and Love heading into the 2023 season. Major changes could be on the horizon in New England should the Patriots not make the playoffs.
While the same expectations don’t exist for the Packers, Love still wants to have a good performance. If he can show development throughout the season and keep the team competitive, that should be enough for him to at least be in consideration to keep the starting job in 2024.
