Packers Coach Teases Jordan Love’s Playing Time Vs. Patriots

The Packers enter a new era with Jordan Love under center, and Matt LaFleur has to balance rest with form in the preseason.

Love started Green Bay’s first preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium on Friday. LaFleur played the majority of starters the first two series of the game, with the exception of running back Aaron Jones.

The third-year quarterback led a touchdown drive in his last series that was capped off by a nine-yard pass to Romeo Doubs.

Love missed Christian Watson on a deep ball, which left LaFleur wanting more. How much more will depend on how joint practices this upcoming week with the New England Patriots play out.

“I would anticipate him playing some more, as well,” LaFleur told reporters, per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. “Whether that’s next week or whether that’s versus Seattle, we’ll kind of see how the week goes, see how practices are going. We’ve got two big practices coming up against New England that are going to be really good for him, and we’re just going to play it by ear.”

The Patriots head to Green Bay for joint practices starting Tuesday. The sides will play Saturday at Lambeau Field at 8 p.m. ET.

In recent years, head coach Bill Belichick used joint practices to prepare for the regular season, which likely is why LaFleur emphasized its importance for Love and his offense.

The Patriots lost to the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium in their preseason opener Thursday, and while an opportunity to go up against the starting Packers offense is valuable, the main concern was the offensive line. New England reportedly plans to address that by signing for former USFL player.