Jordan Love finally made his mark last season in Green Bay after sitting behind Aaron Rodgers for three years. The Packers needed Love to develop, and develop he did, given that he led the team to the playoffs in his debut season as a starter. And to no one’s surprise, during his recent appearance on the Thanalysis podcast, he credited the 4-time NFL MVP’s mentorship as the reason behind his development as a shot-caller. He also recounted a moment that gave him chills after just becoming a part of a franchise for the first time and witnessing the camaraderie between his teammates.
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Love states that even though he has played ball since childhood and developed a lot in college, the NFL is a completely different landscape altogether, and there are plays you see that will blow your mind. Something similar happened to him during his rookie year of training camp. He saw his soon-to-be mentor, Aaron Rodgers, and Davante Adams‘ heart-stopping plays with chemistry and connection on a different level.
Even though he had already seen the pairing of A-Rod and Adams on TV, wreaking havoc on opposition defenses, it was surreal to watch that unfold in front of his eyes and it greatly increased his appreciation and respect for players who do it every day in front of an arena-filled audience. He said,
“I’ll say — my first experience was it in my rookie year — getting there, going to training camp and really just able to see Aaron and Devonte. Man, it was just the connection they had, but seeing some of the plays they would make, I was like, man, this is cool. This is like you see it on TV, watch it in the games and then you get there, you see it live and you’re like okay, man, these dudes are really good .”
Unlike Brett Favre and Rodgers, who didn’t quite get on the same page, Jordan Love stated that his relationship with Rodgers is still going strong, even though they are no longer under the same roof.
Jordan Love Discusses His Relationship With A-Rod
One could very well argue that Love learned everything from Rodgers. And he feels the same way too, as time and time again, Love has expressed that sharing the QB room with the 4-time MVP for three years did wonders for his career, which only strengthened their off-field connection. Jordan, however, stated in the interview that by spending multiple hours together watching films and learning plays, he cultivated a strong bond in the QB room, which included other shot callers, and even coaches.
“We (Love and Aaron) do have a good relationship, obviously,” Jordan said. “I was in the Quarterback room with him and when you’re in there every day for multiple hours a day, you know you build a relationship with everybody that’s in that room, the QBs and QB coaches. So it’s awesome, you have that bond and ya, we have a good relationship.”
But, as per USA Today, they didn’t always have a great relationship, as Rodgers once expressed displeasure when Green Bay spent their first-round pick on his successor. However, he never blamed Jordan for it and developed a relationship with him just like he did with all the other backups.
Love is now the one holding the fort, and his 2023 season was nothing short of remarkable. He threw for 4159 yards, tallied 32 touchdowns, and got picked 11 times. Now that he is going into his 2nd season as a starter, big things will be expected of him and the Cheeseheads would want him to advance even further into the playoffs.
