Packers to start Willis if Love not cleared
Malik Willis will be the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers until Jordan Love returns from a knee injury, head coach Matt LaFleur announced Monday, according to Ryan Wood of USA Today.
"If Jordan is not cleared, then we'll start Malik, and Sean (Clifford) will be the backup," LaFleur said.
Love reportedly suffered a sprained MCL in Friday night's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and could miss three-to-four weeks. The Packers have no plans to put Love on injured reserve but will be cautious with his comeback.
"We will never put him in position to mortgage the short term for the future," LaFleur told reporters. "If he can't protect himself, we would never do that to him, or our football team."
LaFleur denied rumors that Green Bay is interested in bringing in another quarterback. It was reported Sunday that the franchise had reached out to veteran signal-caller Ryan Tannehill.
"No," the head coach remarked. "It's crazy to me how people come up with some of these things. I think you explore every possibility, but at no point in time did we ever have any discussions with anybody."
Acquired in a trade with the Tennessee Titans in August, Willis has three career starts under his belt, zero touchdowns, and three interceptions. He's attempted just 67 passes, completing 35 of them, since being drafted in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
The 0-1 Packers take on the 0-1 Indianapolis Colts in Week 2.