The Green Bay Packers have a massive Thanksgiving game looming, with quarterback Jordan Love and his squad taking on the Detroit Lions. Both teams are still competing to win the NFC North and earn a spot in the NFL Playoffs, but recent remarks suggest an injury that Love suffered could hinder Green Bay’s field general.
In the Packers’ game against the New York Giants, Love scrambled during a play in the first half. He briefly left the game, but returned to finish things out. Reports suggested he had an ACL joint sprain, or a separated shoulder, something that has dealt other quarterbacks excruciating pain.
He managed to play out the Giants game, and then played through the entire game his team won against the Minnesota Vikings last week. The team listed Love on the injury report, and he also practiced all week before a huge matchup against the Detroit Lions for the NFL’s Thanksgiving games.
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The injury occurred on Love’s left shoulder, which doesn’t impact his throwing arm. That said, reporters grilled Love about his injury status and his ability to play against a fierce division rival.
“You know it’s one of those things where I’m able to play through it, obviously, any time you take a hit falling on the field, but nothing that is holding me back, or nothing I can’t play through,” Love said during his chat with reporters Tuesday.
Love’s been fortunate to have two minor injuries this season, thus far. He previously had a thumb issue. He told reporters he was thankful that his previous injury and the recent shoulder injury weren’t on his throwing arm.
“I couldn’t imagine dealing with something on the throwing arm, trying to deal, especially the thumb or, you know, the shoulder. So definitely thankful for that,” he said.
He also indicated he’d never tried to play through an injury with the shoulder for his throwing arm before, so he was unsure if he’d be able to play or how he’d handle it.
A reporter mentioned that he’d seen Baker Mayfield suffer the same injury, to the point where he couldn’t finish the game. Quarterback Carson Went had a similar injury and was in “excruciating pain.” The reporter asked about Love managing the pain and protecting himself.
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“You know, it’s an injury. I’m not going to sugarcoat it,” he said, adding, “With those guys, I’m not sure what exactly their injuries are. I think every injury is a little bit different and how guys feel from it. It’s something we’ve done the test and examined it during the game, and we felt I could play through.”
He also mentioned that there are steps he can take to protect himself from further injury in the upcoming Thanksgiving NFL game. However, he declined to elaborate further on that situation.
Love will be on the field Thursday for Thanksgiving’s first NFL game of the schedule, as he battles Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, and the Detroit Lions. Currently, the 7-3-1 Packers are one spot ahead of the Lions at 7-4 in the NFC North. However, the Chicago Bears lead the division with an 8-3 record.
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