NFC Notes: Jordan Love, Aaron Jones, Lions, Packers, Vikings

Lions

• Lions HC Dan Cambell said DT D.J. Reader (quad) has “a chance” to play in Week 1 after originally anticipating him to return for Week 2, via Kyle Meinke.

Packers

Packers GM Brian Gutekunst said the team was looking to trade up for a receiver to compliment former Packers WR Davante Adams, but nothing came to fruition and they ended up selecting QB Jordan Love after trading a fourth-round pick to move up to 26.

“We were looking to trade up to possibly get a receiver,” Gutekunst said, via The Athletic. “We were looking at doing a lot of different things in that draft. Didn’t come together. The opportunity came to take Jordan, who was the last best guy on our board. It was like, ‘Am I really gonna pass up on a quarterback that we really think can play because of a fourth-round pick?’ Not knowing if he would be there four picks later, it didn’t make any sense. Sitting here today, sure glad we did it.”

Former Packers QB Aaron Rodgers said that Love racked up a bunch of a “quiet fines” for not being more vocal during meetings and on the field.

“He wasn’t talking, so we had to find a way to get his fine points up,” Rodgers said. “So we just tagged him with a bunch of quiet fines all the time … It’d be a conversation, he wouldn’t say anything for a minute. Quiet fine, Jordan.”

“If I didn’t say anything, somebody would blurt it out,” Love said, “whether it was him, (Nathaniel) Hackett, (Luke) Getsy … That was always fun and obviously it got old, but I racked up a ton of quiet fines throughout the year.”

Rodgers admitted that he too was quiet during meetings when he was a young player and wanted to correct any mistakes that Love made.

“I was really quiet in my meetings,” Rodgers said. “I just didn’t wanna interrupt anything … nobody ever said, ‘Hey, Aaron, this is why this happened or this is why I’m doing this,’ so I learned from that and I always said if I got that opportunity, I’m gonna do it how I would’ve wanted it. So I tried to involve him in the conversation and make sure he could see things the right way and give little critiques, but always felt like it was important to, when he did make mistakes, to remind him that every one of those mistakes that you’ve made, I’ve made that and then some.”

Gutekunst recalled watching heading down to Baton Rouge to watch Love play LSU during his collegiate career, a game which LSU won 42-6 and Love completed 50% of his passes for 130 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions.

“Obviously, they got hammered,” Gutekunst said. “But at the same time, the way he handled himself and the way he kept trying to win … he never backed down, started checking the ball down not to get hit. He kept trying to make plays, which I thought said something about the kid.”

Packers HC Matt LaFleur said Love had never been coached fundamentals and while he was a natural thrower, needed a lot of work with his mechanics.

“It was foreign to him,” LaFleur said. “He had never been coached on all that stuff.”

LaFleur added that a lot of first-round quarterbacks are thrown into the fire too early and their careers end prematurely because they’re not ready to play.

“And they get ruined,” LaFleur added. “So to allow (Love) to come into a situation, to learn, to develop, to allow just that natural growth (to) occur certainly benefitted him.”

• Packers third-round RB MarShawn Lloyd (hamstring) didn’t practice on Tuesday but LaFleur said it was a part of their rehab plan for him: “He had two good days. Just part of the process.” (Wes Hodkiewicz)

Vikings

As Vikings RB Aaron Jones inches closer to his age 30 season, he believes he still has a lot of gas left in the tank.

“I feel like every year, I’m getting better and better, and last year I felt like I was just about to start entering my prime,” Jones said, via Around The NFL.

Jones said the game began to slow down for him over the final five games of his Packers career.

“Those last five kind of showed, like, hey, the game’s slowing down a little more and more for me,” Jones said. “I can see different things, and I’m able to hit different holes or set dudes up the way I want to, versus maybe before I hadn’t been able to because the game was still a little fast.”

Jones added that his love for the game goes way beyond money and still believes he has a number of productive years left in him.

“The other day, it was an ongoing question in the locker room: ‘How much money would somebody have to pay you right now for you to stop playing football?’ And I was like, ‘Pretty much like no amount of money,’” Jones said. “I feel like I have a lot left in the tank. I feel like I could play eight more years.”

• Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell said WR Jordan Addison (ankle) is in a “good spot” with his recovery and expects to ramp him up in practice this week to be a full participant, per Andrew Krammer.