Cheese Curds, 6/29: Jordan Love speaks, Aaron Jones gets inked

Aaron Jones will always be a Green Bay Packer. Sure, 2023 might end up being his final season actually playing football for the franchise, but at his heart and his core, Jones will never truly belong to another team.

This week, the veteran running back made that permanent in a fun (though likely painful) way, getting a tattoo of the Packers’ logo to demonstrate his appreciation for and commitment to the organization. Jones has been one of the Packers’ most well-known and well-liked players over the last half-decade, and his work on and off the field has been exemplary. Surely he will be a Packers Hall of Famer someday, and perhaps he’ll show off his tattoo at that time.

While Jones was getting inked, Jordan Love and several other members of the team were speaking with Sports Illustrated for a lengthy profile on the young quarterback. The 24-year-old finally has the reins to the Packers’ offense, and it’s clear that he and everyone around him believe in his ability to sustain level of quarterback play that the franchise has become accustomed to.

In just over 10 weeks, Love should get his second NFL start in the season-opener in Chicago and until then, any expectations are purely speculative. But there’s no question that his teammates, coaches, and everyone in the organization has full confidence in him at this point.

For Packers quarterback Jordan Love, it’s ‘finally’ his time to replace Aaron Rodgers - Sports Illustrated
Love sat down with SI's Matt Verderame to discuss his transition to the top of the depth chart and Rodgers' absence. He spoke about how impactful it was for him to get a chance to start two years ago against the Kansas City Chiefs and that he has kept in touch with Rodgers, at least a little bit, since the trade to New York was complete.

Aaron Jones' new tattoo shows his commitment to Green Bay Packers | Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
Jones now has the Packers' G inked on his knee, a sign that he will always be a Packer, no matter where his NFL career might take him from here.

Darnell Savage moving on from ‘bad taste’ of last year | Packers.com
Savage wants to get his fifth season underway "like, right now" to help erase the memories of a rough 2022 season.

Packers LG Elgton Jenkins excited about speed of Luke Musgrave, Jayden Reed | Packers Wire
In just two years, the Packers' receiving corps will be had an incredible infusion of pure speed, first from Christian Watson last season and now with the 2023 draft picks.

Which 2021 NFL Draft first rounders will have their fifth-year options picked up? - The Athletic ($)
If he can return to the field in 2023 and play reasonably well, Eric Stokes would seem like a solid candidate to have his option picked up next spring.

NFLPA elects Lloyd Howell as new executive director | NFL.com
For the first time in 14 years, the players' union has a new leader as DeMaurice Smith has stepped away into retirement.

Harvard professor who studies dishonesty is accused of tampering with data : NPR
Maybe he was just doing some research?