Aaron Rodgers’ absence from minicamp has afforded the Green Bay Packers a chance to start making up for lost time with quarterback Jordan Love, and coach Matt LaFleur isn’t taking the opportunity for granted.

LaFleur said he’s planning to give Love, last year’s first-round pick, as many reps as possible during the three-day minicamp, which officially started Tuesday.

“He needs every rep he can get right now,” LaFleur said after practice Tuesday. “He’s a young quarterback that was not afforded a preseason last year, and so we’ll give him as many (reps) as he can handle. We’ll spell him every now and again, but I just think that every rep that he takes is so valuable and you can learn something from both the good and the bad.”

At one point during Tuesday’s practice, Rob Demovsky of ESPN counted 16 straight plays run by Love, the clear-cut No. 1 quarterback with Rodgers away. During most offseason practice settings, coaches rotate quarterbacks in and out with some regularity.

The Packers also have Blake Bortles and Kurt Benkert at quarterback, but the goal is clearly to keep advancing Love down his developmental path as a young player at the game’s most difficult position.

LaFleur said it’s his plan to give Love the majority of the reps during minicamp.

The idea is to help Love get caught up after a whirlwind of a rookie season. Not only did Love miss out on a traditional offseason workout program after being drafted, but he was buried behind Rodgers and Tim Boyle during training camp and all preseason games across the NFL were canceled, robbing the rookie of invaluable practice and game experiences. Without the normal offseason work, Love was relegated to the No. 3 quarterback role and was inactive for every game in 2020.

With Rodgers’ future in Green Bay in limbo, getting Love ready to play has to be a primary focus of LaFleur and the Packers.

Tuesday’s practice for Love was mostly up and down, a normal part of training a young and inexperienced quarterback in this difficult situation.

LaFleur said the coaches will go back and “fine comb” the practice tape and make sure all his footwork and fundamentals are right for delivering the ball accurately.

According to Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated, Love completed 12-of-23 passes during live periods throughout the practice.

Minicamp extends through Thursday, providing Love with more opportunities to handle reps as the No. 1 quarterback. The Packers also have a few other OTA sessions before players depart for the rest of the offseason. Training camp begins in late July.