Tyrod Taylor’s NFL story has never been short on twists. He has lasted longer than many expected, made it to a Super Bowl as a backup early in his career, and now finds himself unexpectedly at the center of an online controversy related to his teammate and the Packers’ primary quarterback, Jordan Love.

The controversy started after MLFootball claimed on X that a TikTok account allegedly belonging to Taylor had liked a fan comment criticizing Packers quarterback Jordan Love.

The post quickly put Taylor’s name into the conversation, but the veteran quarterback pushed back with a simple response: “I don’t have TikTok. Never have… Be blessed.”

It seems the veteran QB had no intention of letting such a blatant allegation circulate unchecked. He responded to the allegations via an Instagram Story posted on September 29, making it clear that the account that liked the comment did not belong to him.

Packers fans were understandably upset after Thursday Night, with their home team suffering a humiliating 35-14 defeat against the Atlanta Falcons at Lambeau. The offensive line faced a lot of criticism from both analysts and fans, and as signal-caller, Love wasn’t exempt from the mockery either. 

“While he’s been hindered by key offensive absences, Jordan Love does not look like a quarterback who deserved a $55 million-a-year contract,” USA Today reporter Nate Davis wrote on September 29.

But it is a different matter altogether when your own teammate condemns you. Rumors about Taylor liking a brutal comment bashing Love could cause a rift in the Packers locker room and buckle the other players’ trust in him. It could also undermine Love, the team’s primary offensive signal-caller, further shaking the players’ belief in his leadership and leading to chaos on the field.

Taylor, who is currently in the 15th year of his NFL career, was signed by Green Bay to a one-year, $2.5 million contract, including a $700,000 signing bonus. Despite playing just 100 games across a decade and a half, Taylor posted 13,033 yards and 73 touchdowns. So, along with taking on the role of backup QB, Taylor was also expected to act as a veteran presence for Love, who is entering his sixth year in the league. 

Liking a hate comment would also be very uncharacteristic of the quarterback, who made it clear during the offseason that he was focused on helping Love.

“We’re each other’s eyes when we’re not on the field, whether it’s looking for certain things while he’s [Love] on the field that he may not be able to see before he gets the tablet in his hands,” Taylor said, per ESPN. “It’s our first opportunity working alongside, so we’ll get comfortable within that space. Right now it’s about just attacking the offseason with a critical eye, being very critical of ourselves first, but also coaching each other throughout drills and what we see on tape.” 

Being critical of themselves is not the same as criticizing each other online, and Taylor is well aware of it. As far as blaming Love goes, the starter was under pressure due to the offense’s non-existent run game, allowing him to complete just 28 out of his 53 passes.

Love posted just 312 yards total and scored two touchdowns, along with one interception during the Packers-Falcons matchup. However, rather than putting all the blame on the offense, Love noted his own shortcomings during the post-game media availability, highlighting areas that he felt needed more work.

“To start, my footwork in the pocket… I think making accurate throws, my decision-making, reads, going through those things quickly,” Love said. “Just the feeling I have right now is not good. A lot of areas we need to improve, but at the end of the day, I’ll just sit here and look at myself and say there’s so much stuff I can improve on to make us as an offense better.” 

Now, what remains to be seen is whether Love and Taylor can improve the Packers’ overall offensive execution in their Week 4 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and even out their win-loss record on Sunday, October 4.