Quarterback Jordan Love recently expressed his contentment with being able to continue working under Matt LaFleur after the Packers extended the head coach.
The feeling is very much mutual.
Speaking to NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo on Saturday at the Annual League Meeting in Phoenix, LaFleur touched on Love's importance to Green Bay's Super Bowl aspirations.
"Many teams in this league are only as good as your guy pulling the trigger, so we feel like we're very fortunate to have one of those guys that I think the sky's the limit for him," LaFleur said.
LaFleur also addressed his relationship with Love, as well as the QB's continued maturation: "We trust each other quite a bit. I would say our relationship's really strong. It's been cool to watch his evolution, not only as a player but as a man. From the time we drafted him to where he is now, and he's about to be a dad here really, really soon in a couple weeks. But he's really developed into a really good leader for us."
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In three years as the Packers' starter, Love has made three postseason trips, throwing for 10,929 yards, 80 touchdowns and 28 interceptions with a 27-19-1 record.
The limit of how far he can take Green Bay is still in question after two straight wild-card exits, though, his most recent being a heartbreaker in which Love threw for 323 yards and four TDs, but also went cold, failing hold onto an 18-point halftime lead over the rival Bears.
Regardless, Love is unquestionably the leader of the Pack, still just entering the age range for a quarterback's prime heading into his age-28 season. In addressing LaFleur's extension on Wednesday, Love mentioned the continuity of remaining in the same system. LaFleur on Saturday similarly discussed the importance of at least most of the offensive core returning, with some injured pieces set to be back and younger players stepping up hopefully filling the void of a few impactful names leaving in free agency.
"I think the familiarity with most our guys, obviously we lost some people, losing a guy like Romeo Doubs is not the easiest to replace," LaFleur said, "but it's opportunity for other guys to step up and get more opps. We lost Rasheed Walker, as well. But I'm excited about the group we've got coming back. It'll be great to have Tucker Kraft coming off his ACL injury. He's been around quite a bit. Watching him train and rehab and go through that process, he's gonna be a big focal point of our offense."
Kraft, who LaFleur said is "right on schedule" in his recovery, should provide a boost in his return. He was well on his way to a breakout with 489 receiving yards and six touchdowns through eight games when he tore his ACL, robbing Love of his trustiest target.
If Matthew Golden, lost in the shuffle as a rookie, can step up to fill the hole left by Doubs' departure, the Packers' have the makings of a complementary receiving corps once again, filled out by Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks. It's a group light on star power, but Love has worked with so many of his pass catchers for years.
Whether or not the familiarity finally pays dividends by leading to a deeper playoff run remains to be seen, but LaFleur has every confidence his gunslinger under center is best man to make it happen.