Aaron Rodgers isn’t there, but the show must go on as the Green Bay Packers begin a three-day mandatory minicamp on Tuesday.

While coach Matt LaFleur said the Packers would “love” for Rodgers to be there, the MVP isn’t in Green Bay, creating an important opportunity for 2020 first-round pick Jordan Love.

No, careers aren’t made during three days of practice in June. But for a young, developing quarterback like Love, who didn’t get a full offseason workout program or preseason games as a rookie, these reps – while serving the first-team quarterback with everyone else on the roster attending – couldn’t be more valuable.

And the minicamp is, if nothing else, an opportunity for the Packers to get an extended look at a young player expected to eventually be a franchise leader at the game’s most important position.

For former Packers executive Andrew Brandt, Rodgers’ absence is a reminder of past summers when Brett Favre stayed home and Rodgers – then a young backup – got opportunities to run the team as the top quarterback. Brandt called it a “great evaluation period,” and it wouldn’t be surprising if others in the building now – like LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst – see it the same way.

Love is a work in progress, a reality the Packers freely admit. Even team president Mark Murphy said it was a “shame” that the pandemic affected Love’s development so greatly as a rookie.

But now is an opportunity to start gaining ground and creating confidence in himself as a quarterback that could be playing sooner rather than later.

“Although it is hard to tell a lot in the offseason practices, both Matt LaFleur and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett have said they like what they’ve seen from Jordan this offseason,” Murphy wrote in his monthly column at Packers.com. “Hackett said that the biggest difference this year is his confidence in the system, and that his decision-making, timing and accuracy have all improved. It’s obviously helped him to get reps with the first-team offense this offseason. The preseason games this year will be crucial in his development.”

Minicamp practices are mostly limited and not usually as competitive as training camp sessions. But Love will still get chances to run LaFleur’s offense with all the Packers’ weapons – including the five receivers that skipped OTA – during live periods against an actual defense.

Remember, Love was buried behind Rodgers and backup Tim Boyle last summer. The preseason was canceled. He was inactive for all 18 games. His chances to run an offense in a meaningful setting were extremely limited during his first season.

Not now. With Rodgers staying home, it’s Love’s show during minicamp. These three days are an important opportunity for Love to take a few steps forward in his development as an NFL quarterback.