Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love suffered a knee injury in the final minute of the team’s season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. Initially, there was concern the injury could be season-ending, but after returning from Brazil, Love was diagnosed with a sprained MCL and was initially expected to miss 3-6 weeks.

In the week since the Packers returned to Green Bay, the team has hinted that Love may be back sooner than the initial three-week estimate.

As Sunday’s home opener against the Indianapolis Colts got closer, head coach Matt LaFleur made some statements hinting that Love could be available on Sunday. On the team’s official injury report, he was listed as “questionable” on Friday, despite not practicing all week. He also described “Love as day-to-day.”

This is most likely gamesmanship on LaFleur’s part. He wants the Colts coaching staff to prepare for both Love and backup Malik Willis who is the likely starter on Sunday. If that even serves as a partial distraction or takes away some time for them to prepare for Willis, it was worth making those statements.

But should the Packers play Love on Sunday? Probably not. Even if somehow, Love would be capable of playing, the risk of a further, long-term injury would not be worth trying to win an early-season game in September.

Traditionally, the Packers have been conservative with their injured players. Perhaps the most important recent example came in 2017 with the team’s last franchise quarterback, Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers suffered a fractured collarbone on a questionable hit by Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr in Week 6. Surgery was required and Rodgers was placed on injured reserve. The Packers were 4-1 in the games before Rodgers went down and were expected to be Super Bowl contenders that season.

The Packers turned to Brett Hundley at quarterback. Hundley was not able to win consistently. As the season progressed, the Packers were barely able to stay in the playoff hunt. They went 3-5 in the eight games Hundley was the team’s primary quarterback. The team’s playoff hopes were hanging by a thread.

But the Packers didn’t rush Rodgers back. Eventually, he returned for a Week 15 game in Carolina. The Packers lost that game 31-24 and then the team shut down Rodgers for the rest of the season.

David Bakhtiari is another recent example of a player the Packers didn’t rush back from injury. The former All Pro tackle hasn’t been fully healthy since suffering a knee injury before the 2020 season finale. Last year, the team and the player agreed to shut Bakhtiari down for the season after his knee swelled up during the team’s Week 1 win over the Bears. The Packers didn’t have an experienced backup taking over at left tackle, but they agreed Bakhtiari would benefit from the operation that they hoped would help him resume his career in 2024.

The Packers also didn’t rush Jaire Alexander or Aaron Jones back from injury last season. They eventually did manage to make the playoffs with a strong finish, but they were conservative with their injured players.  

The Packers games in Weeks 2-4 are winnable contests. Trying to win at least one of those three games with the inexperienced Willis under center makes more sense in the long run than risking a more serious injury to Love.

The Packers have invested a lot of money in Jordan Love. They have committed to him as their quarterback for the foreseeable future. Losing him to a more serious injury would be devastating for both the team and the player. If Love cannot be effective or escape pressure, the risk of another injury goes up substantially.

In this case, patience is a virtue. All the Packers need to do is reach the playoffs. With Love and a talented young roster, they are capable of beating any opponent on any day. Rushing Love back would not be the right move right now, as tempting as it may be.