One of the NFL’s ascending young players won’t yet be hitting the practice field as training camps begin.
Packers quarterback Jordan Love is seeking a lucrative long-term extension and will not be practicing with the team as it opens training camp, general manager Brian Gutekunst told reporters on Monday.
Love, 25, is currently set to play on a one-year deal worth up to $22.5 million this season.
Gutekunst added that he believed the two sides were “close” on a deal, and that Love was still around the team in Green Bay.
The 2020 first-round pick dazzled in his first season running the show after sitting behind Aaron Rodgers for three years.
Love threw for 4,159 yards and 32 touchdowns while tossing only 11 interceptions last season.
He was particularly exceptional in the second half of the season, ranking second in expected points added per play among all quarterbacks in that span.
Buoyed by Love’s stellar year, the Packers reached the playoffs and crushed the No. 2 seed Dallas Cowboys in the wild-card round before going toe-to-toe with the eventual NFC champion San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round.
Although Love has played only 27 career games, and 18 as a starter, he’s likely to wind up as one of the highest-paid players in NFL history, earning at least $53 million annually.
Earlier this offseason, quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence (five years, $275 million) and Jared Goff (four years, $212 million) each inked megadeals that established them at or above that threshold and as top-three players by salary in football.
In some ways, the Packers are racing not just to have Love back in action, but also to sign the quarterback for less than other gunslingers.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Cowboys star Dak Prescott are also eagerly awaiting deals, and whichever player signs the latest would theoretically boast the most leverage — with the goal of resetting the market.
Gutekunst and Green Bay opened up their checkbook on the other side of the ball over the weekend, extending terrific defensive tackle Kenny Clark via a three-year, $64 million deal.
The Packers officially began camp on Monday and start the preseason against the Cleveland Browns on Aug. 10.