Organized team activities are technically optional. Some of the NFL's top players, especially ones entering contract years hoping to get a deal done before the season begins like the league's 2023 receptions leader -- Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb -- take the approach of holding out from their squad's offseason programs until a deal gets done.
The quarterback position is a little different, though, when it comes to holdouts and handling the time prior to a new deal. That's the case for Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who has been a full offseason participant in Dallas, as well as the quarterback who eliminated him and Lamb in the postseason in Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love. Love finished second to Prescott -- 36 to 32 -- atop the NFL's passing touchdowns leaderboard last season, his first as Green Bay's full-time starter following Aaron Rodgers' departure to the New York Jets. He enters 2024 in the final year of his current contract just like Prescott, but unlike the Dallas Pro Bowler, he has yet to receive that first big pay day. However, Love is making it a point to show up to the Packers facility at every opportunity.
"That's just something that I've always done, trying to be here, get the reps in, get the work in with the guys and just start building that chemistry and getting ready for the season," Love said Tuesday at Packers OTAs. "I think that's always a part of it. Just showing up and the other guys will follow too. It's a testament to everybody wanting to be here, wanting to get that work in."
There is also a chance his handling of live reps in the preseason against other teams in a full contact manner could be different, but up until that point, Love will be on the practice field all offseason.
"No, so I don't really know what's going on, but we'll see," Love said when asked if his representation told him to play in the preseason without a new deal. "But I'm not gonna get into too much contract stuff."
Matt LaFleur, the Packers head coach who enters his sixth season in Green Bay after taking over for Mike McCarthy in 2019, said Love's presence speaks volumes and has sparked the best offseason program attendance during his tenure in charge. That's a strong testament given Green Bay is 56-27 under LaFleur, which is tied for the third-best record in the NFL across the last five seasons along with the Baltimore Ravens.
"It's everything to us," LaFleur said Tuesday of Love's showing up. "I think if you look at our attendance here, we had one guy missing for a personal matter [cornerback Robert Rochell], but we've had almost 100% the entire offseason. That's been the best that we've had since I've been here [since 2019]. I always think when you look around the league, when your quarterback's there, it just naturally has a way of attracting everybody to come. We're still a very young football team, as well, so these guys, they want to put in the work. We've got a lot of guys that love the game and love the process of grinding together and going through some tough things together. But to have him here, you can't put a value on that."
The value of Love and the entire squad being at the facility is clear: it can provide the offense a chance to start 2024 the way they finished in 2023 -- rattling off seven wins in their final 10 games including the postseason with the Green Bay quarterback throwing 23 touchdowns to only three interceptions.
"I feel a little bit more comfortable," Love said. I obviously had a full season to get a lot of reps to learn and grow. Definitely feel a lot more comfortable each year I've been here. This year moreso. ... My leadership has grown every year, even more now. I think it was tough when Aaron was still the quarterback, and I was the backup to try and be in that leadership role and tell guys one thing when he might want something differently. So that was always tough, and obviously now being the guy last year, I try and elevate that role and talk to guys more. Be in guys' ears a little bit more and try and focus on being a better leader, talking to guys. The more reps I get, the more comfortable I get, the better I get with these relationships with the guys in here, it gets easier. It's definitely something I've gotten better at every year."
Love, a first-time starting quarterback in 2023, threw to a skill-position group just about as inexperienced as him last year with essentially all of his pass-catchers being in the first or second NFL season. Yet, the Packers offense set NFL single-season records for most catches (302), receiving yards (3,642) and receiving touchdowns (31) by first- or second-year players in 2023. That group having even more chemistry could provide a big boost with additional continuity.
"Guys know exactly where they're gonna be at. We have so much chemistry from last year and built-up reps," Love said. ... "It's definitely a big difference."
The underlying vibe of both Love's and LaFleur's comments indicate a belief in Green Bay that they have a team that contend for a Super Bowl this upcoming season. In 2023, they knocked off the eventual two-time Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs 27-19 on "Sunday Night Football in Week 13, and they led the eventual NFC champion San Francisco 49ers on the road in the NFC divisional round until just over a minute remaining in a 24-21 loss. The Packers are out to prove they can be much more than an thrilling upstart in 2024. Cornerback Keisean Nixon, who has been the NFL's First Team All-Pro kick returner in each of the last two seasons, said as much directly.
"I feel like we let a team [the San Francisco 49ers] off the hook last year in the playoffs, and we know that," Nixon said Tuesday. "Everybody on this team is here for a mission, and we are ready to win a Super Bowl. So we are all here locked in, and it shows that we aren't anything to play with."
