Jordan Love Placed on Packers' Reserve/COVID-19 List Ahead of Bears Game

The Green Bay Packers announced Monday that backup quarterback Jordan Love has been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list ahead of the team's NFC North matchup with the Chicago Bears on Sunday night. 

The Packers only have Aaron Rodgers and Love on the depth chart at quarterback, but the team previously signed Blake Bortles to serve as a backup when Rodgers missed a game on the reserve/COVID-19 list, so his temporary return to the roster would make sense. 

If not Bortles, Kurt Benkert would move up to the backup quarterback spot from the practice squad. The Packers are currently thin at the position, with Rodgers recovering from a fractured toe. 

Benkert is a 26-year-old Virginia product who has never played in an NFL game. 

Love, 23, is in his second season with Green Bay after being a surprise first-round selection by the team in the 2020 draft. He made one start for the team this year, finishing 19-of-34 for 190 yards, a touchdown and an interception in a Nov. 7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. 

As for Rodgers, he's made it clear he plans to play through his toe injury and was using the team's bye last week to heal as much as possible. 

"I'll just keep getting treatment," he said on the Pat McAfee Show last Monday (h/t NFL.com). "We're hoping to avoid surgery, obviously, but the surgery would be such a minor one, that it wouldn't be something that I'd have to miss time with. It's a [prerequisite] for any surgery that I have at this point, I'm not going to miss any time. We'll kind of reassess early next week and make a decision. ... I could have surgery on a Monday or Tuesday and play on Sunday."

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters Monday that he doesn't believe Rodgers will undergo surgery. 

"Not to my knowledge," he said when asked if Rodgers was planning to get surgery. "I don't believe so, no."

"I know he was getting treatment and doing everything he can to be 100 percent," he added. "I still think it's a process, like anything, and we'll see where he's at this week. Hopefully, we can get him out there at practice, but if not, we've got a lot of confidence in just his ability to go out there and play at a high level."