Packers’ Jordan Love returns to practice, may play vs. Titans

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Twelve days after suffering a left knee injury in the season opener, Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love returned to the practice field and left open the possibility of playing Sunday at the Tennessee Titans.

Love has missed only one game — Sunday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts, when Malik Willis started at quarterback — after initial indications were that he could miss up to a month because of a sprained MCL.

Love wore a protective brace that was covered by a sleeve that extended almost the entire length of his leg and was officially a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice. Coach Matt LaFleur wouldn’t specify whether Love took part in only selected drills or took part in every drill under a rep count.

In addition to still needing medical clearance, Love would have to be mobile enough to protect himself from injury to play Sunday.

“The trainers are seeing everything I’m doing and they’re not gonna put me out there unless they feel confident that I can protect myself,” Love said Wednesday. “But at the same time, that’s why it’s good to get some practice reps in and get that feel of what it’s like again.”

Love acknowledged that not everything can be simulated in practice.

“There’s just nothing like when it’s live bullets, you’re in the game and that rush is real,” said Love, “so there’s a lot of things I might not experience before I get back in the game.”

Willis said he is impressed with Love’s recovery.

“You can see that he feels more comfortable just moving around the building, the way he was out there today,” Willis said. “I wouldn’t be surprised [if Love plays]. I just have to stay ready and focus on what I can control [and] leave it up to him and Coach LaFleur.”

Meanwhile, LaFleur has been tasked with trying to get Willis enough work in practice so that he can use more of the playbook than he did in Sunday’s win over the Colts, when the Packers threw just 14 times and ran 53.

“That’s always a challenge, and so throughout the course of the week, hopefully you get a better indication and that kind of leads to some of the decisions you have to make,” LaFleur said of getting two quarterbacks ready.

Willis isn’t looking at Sunday’s matchup as a revenge game after the Titans traded him to the Packers for a seventh-round pick on Aug. 26. The 2022 third-round pick started three games for Tennessee, going 1-2.

“No, I could care less, man,” Willis said. “I think I got paid the whole time I was there. I’m more than blessed for the opportunities given me. They brought me into this league, whether those guys are there or not. That organization, they took a shot on me. … They did a great job by me.”