Packers: Matt LaFleur sounds borderline unhappy with Jordan Love

After a shaky showing in the preseason finale, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur sounded unhappy with Jordan Love.

The Green Bay Packers pushed Aaron Rodgers into a higher level of discontent by trading up for Jordan Love in the 2020 NFL Draft. The reigning league MVP has been open in his opinion that his showing last year derailed the team’s plan to replace him with Love heading into this year.

Rodgers clearly wanted out of Green Bay this offseason, and the Packers had no motivation to oblige. But if they thought Love was ready to start, they may have been more willing to entertain the trade offers that came.

With no preseason last year as a rookie and no regular season action, Love did not take an NFL game snap until the Packers’ first preseason game this year. A shoulder injury in that game sidelined him for the second preseason game, taking away a development opportunity, before he started Saturday’s preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills.

Packers: Matt LaFleur didn’t sound too thrilled with Jordan Love

Love went 12-for-18 for 149 yards with an interception against the Bills. The interception came on an ill-advised throw into the end zone after he stumbled on a roll-out, ending a promising drive.

When taking inventory of Love’s preseason performance, which included one scoring drive in two games, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur didn’t seem very happy. Via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky:

“I think for the most part he’s done a nice job,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said after Saturday’s game. “Certainly these are teachable moments, and I think you have to experience those and go through those in a game setting to really learn from them, so I’m pretty certain that he will learn from those mistakes and hopefully he doesn’t repeat them.”

ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky pointed to some of what Love was doing wrong against the Bills.

Playing mostly against Buffalo’s starting defense, and without the Packers’ other starters who would be around Rodgers all preseason, worked against Love. LaFleur surely isn’t going to make any declarations one way or another, but even if it’s only short-term he doesn’t seem to be as in Love as he once was with his young quarterback.