GREEN BAY, Wis. — Jordan Love has cleared the concussion protocol, but the Green Bay Packers do not intend to play him until the playoffs and will start Clayton Tune at quarterback in Sunday’s regular-season finale at the Minnesota Vikings.
Coach Matt LaFleur said Thursday that Love would only play on Sunday if he’s needed as the backup quarterback, but most likely either Malik Willis or Desmond Ridder would serve as the No. 2 quarterback against the Vikings.
“If he’s the backup on game day and if something bad happened, then you’ve got not many other options,” LaFleur said when asked whether there’s any reason to play Love. “But the intent, I would say, is not to play him.”
Love sustained a concussion in the Packers’ Dec. 20 loss at the Chicago Bears and missed last week’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens. He was a full participant in practice Wednesday for the first time since the Bears game and was cleared Thursday, 12 days after what was believed to be the first concussion of his NFL career.
Love said he felt symptom-free last week even though he could not pass all the tests needed to be cleared at that time.
“You’ve got to take computer tests and things like that, so you might be feeling good where you don’t have any symptoms,” Love said. “But I think the tests are all there to make sure that your brain’s working fine and you’re able to be thinking clearly.”
The Packers (9-6-1) are locked into the No. 7 seed in the NFC and will open the playoffs with a wild-card game on the road against either the Bears or Philadelphia Eagles. The Vikings (8-8) have been eliminated from playoff contention and have not named a starting quarterback yet for Sunday.
Love wouldn’t say whether the hit that concussed him by Chicago’s Austin Booker was dirty — it did draw a roughing the passer penalty and a fine from the NFL.
He also gave no indication that he was against the idea of sitting out this week. He said it will give him a jump-start on preparing for either potential playoff opponent.
“You definitely try and get ahead,” Love said, expressing no concern that not playing in the past two-plus regular-season games would leave him rusty for the playoffs.
Willis was a limited participant in practice Wednesday because of right shoulder and hamstring injuries. He did not throw at all during the open viewing portion of practice but said he threw a few passes later in the session. The Packers signed Ridder to the practice squad Wednesday, giving them four quarterbacks in-house for the first time since training camp. LaFleur said Ridder could “potentially” serve as the No. 2 quarterback Sunday.
Tune, a fifth-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2023, has made one NFL start — a 27-0 loss to the Cleveland Browns midway through his rookie season. He completed 11 of 20 passes for 58 yards with two interceptions and a lost fumble.
“I would say I’m obviously more experienced, been around the game more, obviously seeing more looks, seeing more defenses,” Tune said. “So I would say I’m obviously a better player just from being in the NFL for two years longer, but just I’ve seen it before and I kind of know what to expect now that I’ve got a start under my belt.”
He joined the Packers on Aug. 28, when he was signed to the practice squad. He was elevated for game day last week against the Ravens and finished the game after Willis reinjured his shoulder. He completed just 1 of 4 passes for 8 yards with an interception on a pass that went off the hands of receiver Bo Melton. Tune was signed to the active roster Wednesday.
“He’s a guy that’s shown some pretty good promise in terms of what we’ve seen,” LaFleur said. “What an opportunity for him. I think he’s started one other game in his career, I want to say. It’s going to be a great opportunity, it’s going to be great for everybody to see what he can go out there and do.”
LaFleur said he plans to rest some starters before the playoffs but other than Love did not say which players.
