The Green Bay Packers are keeping their cards close to their chest. They don't want to give away any more information about Jordan Love's Week 3 status than they need to.
Officially, Love is questionable for Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans. The buzzword is "limited," which is clearly an instruction for every coach speaking to the media this week. Love practiced all week, which is a clear sign of progress from last week.
All-Pro running back Josh Jacobs carried the ball 32 times in Love's absence last week and could face a similar workload if Malik Willis gets the start again.
However, he may have accidentally revealed Love's status in a recent podcast interview.
Jacobs appeared on the Two Gs in a Pod podcast with Amber Theoharis and former Packers receiver James Jones, and he may have revealed too much about Love's status for Week 3.
"You know what's crazy? We thought Jordan was going to play last week," said Jacobs. "We honestly thought—he was running and stuff like that. We were like, it could be Malik but this game plan could change."
Wait, he thought Love was going to play last week?
It backs up various reports that suggested the Packers believed he had a chance. They kept the door open, which wasn't gamesmanship or mind games, but a real belief he could be ready. Jacobs went a step further by saying he believed Love would play in Week 2. Since then, Love has had an extra week of recovery and practiced each day.
When asked again on Friday, Jacobs provided a coy answer.
There's that word "limited" again. It's all we've heard from the coaching staff after each practice, and the Packers seem to have got that message across to the players.
However, head coach Matt LaFleur may also have inadvertently provided a clue. Since the injury, LaFleur has been upfront with the media by telling reporters that Love hadn't been cleared. When asked the same question on Friday, he said they were "working through it," which was a slight change in his response.
Love is close. We know that. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport revealed that while he won't be at 100 percent, he can't make the injury worse due to the brace he is wearing. That's another good sign.
Jacobs' belief that Love would play last week may provide a clue that the Packers' franchise quarterback will return in Week 3. We'll see.
