Packers QB Jordan Love picked surgery to ensure being 100 percent for Week 1

2 days ago

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love could have played through his left thumb injury had it occurred during the regular season, but getting surgery and fixing the issue now was his preferred path forward so he would be at 100 percent to open the season.
"With the time frame that we have right now, finishing up training camp and preseason, and heading into the season with the choice to be going into the season 100 percent healthy, that was definitely the call I wanted to make," Love said Thursday. "Dealing with injuries last year, I wanted to go into this thing feeling good."
Love had the surgery in Los Angeles on Tuesday. He said he is "on the road to recovery" and expecting to practice in some capacity next week. The Packers play the Detroit Lions in the season opener on Sunday, Sept. 7, so Love will have almost four weeks of recovery between the surgery and kickoff in the opener.
The injury happened in the Packers' preseason opener last Saturday night. Love hit his left thumb on the helmet of a Jets defender while taking a sack but "didn't think too much" of the injury when it first happened.
Love practiced Monday as part of the "evaluation process" but ultimately determined surgery on the thumb was the best option.
"That was part of the debate," Love said. "If this was in the middle of the season, probably would have been something we didn't get the surgery on. But with it being early and having time to recover and be fully ready for Week 1, the recommendation was surgery."
Love injured his knee in Week 1 last year, which required him to miss two games, and he later suffered a groin injury after returning. After a season so affected by injury, Love didn't want to start this one with an injury situation he had time to fix.
The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) is often injured in contact sports when the thumb is forcibly stretched away from the hand. While Love is a right-handed quarterback, having a UCL injury in the thumb can affect a person's ability to grasp objects, such as a football, per Cleveland Clinic.
Love said the focus will be on protecting the thumb over the next few weeks so there is no re-injury before Week 1.
"We'll be smart with it going forward," Love said.

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Breaking down Packers' preseason win over Colts: What went right, wrong

USA Today

4 hours ago

USA Today

Breaking down Packers' preseason win over Colts: What went right, wrong

The Green Bay Packers got three second half touchdowns, including the go-ahead score from Sean Clifford with under two minutes to go, to overcome 11 first-half penalties and an early 13-0 hole during Saturday's 23-19 win over the Indianapolis Colts in preseason Week 2. Matt LaFleur sat 29 players, some due to injury, some due to importance. Overall, only a few starting players were on the field for the Packers on Saturday, and the Colts -- who played starters throughout the first half -- went up early. LaFleur's team outscored the Colts 20-6 in the second half. Here's what went right, what went wrong and what it means for the Packers moving forward: What went right -- In a battle between the Packers second-string defense and the Colts first-team offense, the Packers actually came out OK. In fact, the Colts only scored three points across the two drives in which most starters played, and the Packers defense was only responsible for giving up 10 points on drives with Daniel Jones or Anthony Richardson on the field. Three points came after a turnover inside the 25-yard line. -- The Packers scored three touchdowns in the second half, including one spearheaded by Israel Abanikanda's hard running and another in which Taylor Elgersma converted both a third down and fourth down. Sean Clifford converted a fourth down before his game-winning score on the final drive. -- Malik Heath caught a 9-yard pass in traffic and likely should have drawn a holding penalty on a deep ball, while Mecole Hardman produced a 21-yard catch on third down and a mistake-free day returning punts. Both veteran receivers bounced back from poor openers. -- MarShawn Lloyd and Emanuel Wilson both produced explosive plays in the passing game. Lloyd won deep and made a stumbling catch for 33 yards, while Wilson caught a short pass, made a man miss and then bowled over a tackler for 31 yards. -- Taylor Elgersma completed 7-of-11 passes for 109, averaging 9.9 yards per attempt. The game was moving fast early, but he settled in and made some throws down the field. He certainly has an NFL-caliber arm. The Packers scored three times with him at quarterback. -- The Packers had eight third-down conversions and converted all four fourth down opportunities and all three red zone opportunities. A big improvement situationally over the opener. -- Israel Abanikanda and Amar Johnson both had tough, physical runs to score touchdowns in the second half. -- Packers defensive linemen batted down or deflected four different passes. Bo Melton and Kitan Oladapo also had pass breakups downfield. -- Cornelius Johnson caught three passes for 41 yards (including one for 18 yards on fourth down), Julian Hicks had 45 yards worth of receiving yards wiped away via penalty (including a tremendous 31-yard catch along the sideline) and Isaiah Neyor got behind the coverage at least twice but was underthrown. The young receivers mostly capitalized on opportunities. -- Can't forget about Daniel Whelan, who put all three of his punts inside the 20-yard line, including a booming 59-yarder inside the Colts' 10-yard line. What went wrong -- The Packers were penalized 11 times in the first half, including five on Anthony Belton and several infractions that negated big plays or put the Packers in bad situations. Belton had back-to-back illegal formation penalties to end the half, and Matt LaFleur was not happy. -- The Packers didn't have a takeaway and lost the turnover battle again. Emanuel Wilson's fumble handed the Colts three easy points. -- Donovan Jennings struggled once again, especially early. A starter at left guard, he committed a holding penalty and gave up at least two pressures with Malik Willis at quarterback. -- Rookie kicker Mark McNamee left four points on the table. He missed a 39-yard field goal and an extra point in his NFL debut attempting kicks. -- Linebacker Isaiah Simmons looked lost in coverage early, and he missed at least one tackle (but finished with a team-high nine tackles while playing deep into the second half). Kamal Hadden gave up a few catches, had a holding penalty on a kickoff return and a holding penalty in coverage. -- Another potential injury for MarShawn Lloyd, who went out after catching a 33-yard pass in the first half. The Packers' 2024 third-round pick can't catch a break. What it means Very little overall. The Packers sat almost every important starter, so the evaluation for Matt LaFleur and Brian Gutekunst was all about the depth of the roster. And in that light, the Packers got plenty of good tape on second-string players against starting level NFL players. Reviewing Saturday's film and finding the players who stepped up to the challenge could be a big part of picking the final spots on the 53-man roster. What's next The final week of training camp. The Seahawks are coming to Green Bay for a joint practice on Thursday and the preseason finale on Saturday afternoon. The joint practice on Thursday is the final open practice of training camp.