Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love sprained his MCL during the team’s Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil. He is expected to miss multiple weeks as a result, which essentially disqualified all futures bettors who backed Love to win NFL MVP or over any of his season yardage or touchdown total props.
But, are Packers futures also down the drain? And how should you approach this situation in the short term?
Losing not only your quarterback for an extended period of time is difficult, but it’s especially tough when it’s the guy you just signed to a four-year, $220 million contract extension. This was his first game playing under that deal.
Green Bay acquired Malik Willis in a trade with the Tennessee Titans before Week 1 and he was the guy to enter the game for Love last week. He should be the starter in Week 2 when the Pack host the Colts at Lambeau Field, which should mean positive things for Indianapolis based on what we’ve seen so far out of the young QB. Sean Clifford, last year’s backup, is the only other QB under contract and he was released and then re-signed to the practice squad last month.
Some have floated a potential trade for Cleveland Browns backup Jameis Winston or signing veteran free agent Ryan Tannehill could be in the cards, but it’d be surprising if one of those moves happens in time to make the new acquisition QB1 by gametime in Week 2 against Indy.
Quarterback is the position that moves lines most in the NFL and I absolutely will be hammering the Colts up to -6.5 in this one. With Love healthy before Week 1, this line opened at Green Bay -5. Now, the Packers find themselves as 3.5-point underdogs. That’s not a coincidence; it’s a direct result of Love’s injury, which moved it 7.5 points instantly, per BetQL’s Packers-Colts game page.
I have a hard time believing they’re going to rush Love back and I have zero faith in Willis or Clifford under center. I’m planning on a full fade of Green Bay in the short term and think their season-long positive futures are toast; they’re now around -180 (64.29% implied probability) to miss the playoffs, which is something that would have been absolutely shocking with Love healthy.
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