Jaguars' offseason move at quarterback looks great in light of Jordan Love's injury

The Jacksonville Jaguars have a long-term answer behind center in Trevor Lawrence. However, they also knew that they needed to be prepared in case of injury. That's why they wasted no time looking for a capable backup in the offseason. They found him when they traded for Mac Jones. While the Jags hope the former first-round pick doesn't take the field for them in 2024, the decision to acquire him looks much better in light of the MCL sprain Jordan Love suffered.

The Green Packers faced the Philadephia Eagles in the first NFL game ever in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Things didn't surely go the way they expected. Besides losing 34-29, Love suffered a knee injury that will force him to miss extended time.

While it's never pleasant to see a player go down with an injury, teams know it's an inherent part of the sport and must prepare accordingly. And that's the thing, the Packers don't have a great contingency plan to withstand Love's absence. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, the former first-round quarterback will sit out three to six weeks, noting that there's "optimism he could return sooner than later."

With Love out for the foreseeable future, Malik Willis is the next man up at quarterback for Green Bay. While he came out of college with ample upside, the Liberty product hasn't done much in the NFL. A third-round pick by the Tennessee Titans in 2022, he struggled as a rookie and didn't get much better last year.

The Titans pulled the plug on Wilis earlier this year, trading him to the Packers in exchange for a measly seventh-round pick. All things considered, that's not a bad price. The trouble is that Green Bay got what they paid for, a quarterback who hasn't done enough to inspire confidence if thrust into action.

Seen as a playoff contender ahead of the 2024 NFL season, the Packers could find a way to remain competitive without Love. That said, there's an equal — if not higher chance — that they'll struggle with Willis behind center, and this might've been avoided had they made a more extensive effort to protect themselves from injuries at quarterback.

Unlike the Packers, the Jaguars have a superb backup at QB in Mac Jones

Like Trevor Lawrence, Jordan Love got a top-market contract that makes him one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL. That goes on to show that the Packers believe he's the long-term answer at the position. The problem is that they shouldn't have stopped there.

Having a franchise quarterback certainly gives you a chance to win football games but you also want to have a capable backup in case your starter goes down. Whereas Green Bay is currently lacking one, the Jaguars should be thrilled to have Mac Jones in the fold.

A first-round pick in 2021, the Jacksonville native helped the New England Patriots clinch a playoff berth and made the Pro Bowl as a rookie. However, all the good grace he built in his first season evaporated after a pair of underwhelming years. The Pats thought they had seen enough and traded him to the Jaguars in the offseason.

Since landing in Jacksonville, Jones has enjoyed a career revival, routinely standing out because of his bubbly personality. That's carried over into his play. In three preseason games, the fourth-year quarterback completed 73.1 percent of his passes for 421 yards with three touchdowns.

The Jaguars have made a big investment in Trevor Lawrence. They'll surely want to see a return in 2024. However, they know there's the possibility he'll suffer an injury. If he does, they have a dependable backup in Mac Jones, and all it took to acquire him was a sixth-round pick. If the Packers had made a similar effort to upgrade their quarterback room in the offseason, maybe they wouldn't be fretting over Jordan Love's absence.

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