Who are some quarterbacks the Packers could sign to backup Jordan Love? Here are three quality insurance options.
The Green Bay Packers released practice squad quarterback Danny Etling this weekend, leaving a gaping roster hole behind Jordan Love this season.
Sure, the Packers could promote rookie Sean Clifford or USFL star Alex McGough to the No. 2 quarterback position. That's probably what's going to happen. But neither Clifford and McGough possess the consistency or experience to save Green Bay in a pinch, should Love pick up any kind of injury in 2023.
The Packers saw what happen to the 49ers QB room last season — do they really want to risk throwing away a whole year because they didn't sign a semi-decent backup?
If the Packers don't want to roll the dice on the first year of the Love era, the franchise should consider shoring up the quarterback room. Compared to the rest of the league, Green Bay arguably has the thinnest depth behind its starting signal-caller, but all they need is one pivotal signing in 2023.
Here are three quarterback options to back up Jordan Love.
Packers backup QB option No. 3: Teddy Bridgewater
Any time the words "backup quarterback" are said aloud, Teddy Bridgewater appears. We don't know why, we don't make the rules. He just does.
Bridgewater has floated around on as many as five different teams in his eight-year career, his most recent stint being a short adventure in Miami where he filled in when Tua Tagovailoa got concussed.
The NFL journeyman has found himself available in free agency yet again, and the Packers should consider bringing on Bridgewater this summer before someone else snags him first.
In 2022, Bridgewater recorded just 683 yards and four touchdowns along with four interceptions. He enjoyed more success the year prior when he finished with a 7-7 record as a starter; he racked up over 3,000 yards and completed 66.9 percent of his passes. Let's just say if the Packers win seven games with Bridgewater under center, that should be counted as a win.
Bridgewater easily outshines Clifford and McGough in the experience department, and his occasionally productive past seasons prove that he can be coached to achieve at least mild success.
Packers backup QB option No. 2: Brett Hundley
What's the difference between USFL quarterback Brett Hundley and USFL quarterback Alex McGough? Hundley was actually drafted by the Packers many, many years ago.
The 2015 fifth-round pick did not, as one can assume, pan out for Green Bay. In three years with the Packers, Hundley played in 15 games and recorded nine touchdowns against 13 interceptions before being traded to the Seattle Seahawks for a sixth-round pick. He spent a year in Arizona in 2019 but wouldn't play a single snap after that; he landed on Baltimore's practice squad last season and never got called up.
In all honesty, the Packers probably shouldn't give Hundley a second chance. They tried him out, it didn't work, and they parted ways as is the natural course for a slew of unimpressive quarterback draft picks.
To play the devil's advocate, Hundley does have experience in Green Bay. He's failed the standard metrics of success there, yet he's been there before nonetheless. He had four years working with current Packers quarterbacks coach Tom Clements, his first three Green Bay seasons plus his Arizona stint. At 26 years old, Hundley is the youngest, most athletic option on this list and he also happens to have the most upside given his dual-threat abilities (the Ravens kept him around to backup Lamar Jackson for a reason).
Inking Hundley to a cheap deal would provide less insurance than other veteran QBs would, and the Packers are already venturing into the unknown blindfolded with Jordan Love at the helm. But sometimes you need a little bit more blind faith.
Packers backup QB option No. 1: Carson Wentz
This option defies logic and rationality. All justifications fall short. And yet…
Free agent Carson Wentz is the kind of quarterback that wrecks franchises. He flopped in Philly after signing a monster extension, joined Indy and destroyed their playoff dreams, and then helped the Commanders fall to the bottom of the NFC East.
More people consider Wentz a joke now more than ever, but there are always a few QB-needy teams willing to bite. Hence why Wentz has had a job for the last two years.
Maybe Wentz really has lived all his nine lives as an NFL quarterback and is nearing the limbo where irrelevant players go to retire in peace. Wentz, however, is not going quietly.
This offseason, he recently made a rather desperate recruiting attempt by repping all the previous teams he's played for. He looked like a total joke, and yet…
Need a quick and painless scapegoat? Wentz is your man.
The former first-round pick has got nothing going for him, years of wasted potential haunting him, and everybody laughing at him. And yet…
