It’s looking increasingly likely that injured Packers starting quarterback Jordan Love will miss Week 2 against the Colts, as initially expected.
The Green Bay Packers have downgraded starting quarterback Jordan Love to ‘doubtful’ with a sprained MCL, after he had initially been listed as ‘questionable’ throughout the week:
Packers elevate QB Sean Clifford for gameday
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 14, 2024
That was probably nothing more than some attempted gamesmanship by Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, who presumably was hoping to get the Colts to have to defensive game plan for two potential quarterbacks: Love and his expected replacement, Malik Willis—each of whom has their own unique individual skill-set.
That being said, given the severity of how Love’s knee injury looked during the opener, and that his initial timetable of recovery was in the 3-6 week range, and I’m not sure that the Colts coaching staff realistically took that bait.
In Love’s absence, the Packers are expected to turn to former Tennessee Titans 2022 3rd round draft pick Malik Willis, who was traded to Green Bay in late August for a 2025 7th round draft pick.
The former Liberty standout has completed 35 of 67 pass attempts (52.2%) for 350 passing yards, 0 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions during 12 career games (3 starts)—with all 3 of those being with the Titans back in the 2022 season (where Willis was 1-2 as a starter).
However, while Willis is highly regarded for his dual-threat mobility as a passer, it’s his pocket passing that was seemingly limited the last time he was given an extended starter’s look back in 2022. From that standpoint, he should be quite the contrast in playing style to Love, who while also fairly mobile (albeit to a lesser extent), is both comfortable and competent at making throws in the pocket.
Willis filling in for Love should be a sigh of relief for a Colts secondary that will be without starting outside cornerback JuJu Brents, as well as safety Julian Blackmon. I would expect the Colts to load the box to account for Willis’s rushing, while forcing him to make contested throws downfield and towards the sidelines.
