GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Even after he sustained a thumb injury in last year's preseason opener, Jordan Love is expected to play in the Green Bay Packers' first preseason game of this season on Thursday at the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Coach Matt LaFleur said Tuesday he believes there's value in getting "mentally ready to go play a game, whether it's one play, whether it's three plays, 10 plays, the whole game."
However, he added: "I always have the right to change my mind."
On Aug. 9 of last year, Love injured the ulnar collateral ligament in the thumb on his left (non-throwing) hand against the New York Jets. He tried to practice after that but quickly decided to have surgery. He did not play in the remaining two preseason games last year. He was ready for the season opener but had to wear a protective brace on his left thumb.
"Obviously what happened last year sucked," Love said Tuesday. "It was very tough. I'm glad that the timeline was what it was, and I was able to be good for Week 1. But yeah, it's definitely one of those things you got to take into consideration going into preseason and everything.
"Me and Matt have talked, and I think the plan is to play some limited role this week and see how it goes going forward. But that's always something that you've got to be smart when you're out there, trying to avoid taking hits, things like that. But you know it is football, so."
Love admitted that he will play differently than he would in a regular-season or playoff game.
"The main thing is to stay healthy, obviously," Love said. "Avoid taking hits. If you get into a scramble situation, definitely not take any hits outside the pocket, anything like that. But really, it's just about being smart, trying to get the ball to your hand, find those completions, put together a good drive."
One thing that could change LaFleur's mind about playing Love is the status of his offensive line. He has said in the past he would not put his starting quarterback on the field in the preseason if multiple starting linemen are out.
Right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele returned to full practice this week after undergoing knee surgery in the offseason, but starting left guard Aaron Banks' status is unknown. Banks has been extremely limited in practice because of a nagging knee injury.
Either way, LaFleur indicated many starters will play.
"I think just my experiences here is that when we've played in the preseason, we've been better earlier in the season," LaFleur said. "You open up with a division opponent on the road [at Minnesota], that's a tough task in itself.
"So I think, we've got to keep that in mind, and plus there's a lot of data out there that will tell you that if your guys get 'X' amount of snaps in the preseason, I think it's like over three times less likely that they get injured in the regular season."