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Rob Demovsky, ESPN Staff WriterNov 1, 2024, 04:22 PM ET
- Rob Demovsky is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Green Bay Packers. He has covered the Packers since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2013. Demovsky is a two-time Wisconsin Sportswriter of the Year as selected by the NSSA. You can follow him on Twitter at @RobDemovsky.
GREEN BAY, Wis. — After two straight days of limited practice, Jordan Love was listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions while dealing with the groin injury that took him out of last week’s win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Love, who missed Weeks 2 and 3 this season because of a left knee sprain, came up limping on the first drive of last Sunday’s game. He played the remainder of the first half and started the second half before he went to the sideline and did not return, leaving Malik Willis to finish the game.
The Packers (6-2) held Love out of practice Wednesday, but Love said at that time that he believed it was “realistic” that he could play against the first-place Lions (6-1).
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“I think we’re going to do it how we always do it; we’ll give him up to game time to see how he’s feeling,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Friday.
The Packers listed three other players as questionable: cornerback Jaire Alexander (knee), cornerback Corey Ballentine (ankle) and running back Josh Jacobs (ankle). Alexander did not practice at all this week, while Jacobs returned after missing Wednesday’s practice. Ballentine practiced all week.
Center Josh Myers (wrist) was listed as doubtful, and safety Evan Williams was ruled out.
Love was listed as doubtful before the Week 2 game that he missed and as questionable leading into Week 3 (did not play) and Week 4 (when he returned).
Willis took all the starter’s reps Wednesday, but it’s unclear how the practice work was divided Thursday and Friday.
Leading into Willis’ first start in Week 2 against the Colts, LaFleur prepared a stripped-down game plan that leaned heavily on the run. In the two starts with Willis — and not including his relief stint against the Jaguars — the Packers have called designed runs on 68% of their plays compared with 41% with Love as the starter.
However, now that Willis has been here for nearly two months, the Packers believe he can run an offense that looks closer to what it would with Love.
“Comparison is the thief of joy; I try not to compare it to what we do,” Willis said this week. “It’s whatever Coach Matt calls, and we try to go out and execute the best we can. I do what I can to make sure that, if it isn’t executed properly, I do what I can to minimize the risk and take care of the ball. That’s it.”
