Jordan Love’s knee injury isn’t anything season-ending, but his reported MCL sprain is still enough to sideline him for three to six weeks, so the Packers would do well to add a quarterback to compete with backup Malik Willis for the starting job in Love’s absence.
Green Bay also has Sean Clifford, last year’s backup, on the practice squad, so it might be as simple as signing him to the 53 and rolling with those two. But Willis has only been with the Packers since Aug. 26 — less than two weeks — so he’ll have a cram session to learn the offense well enough to run it in Week 2 at home against the Colts.
The Packers gave up a seventh-round pick to get Willis, and it’s unlikely they’d give more draft capital for what should be short-term help until Love is healthy again. But there are quarterbacks out there — either unsigned or on other teams’ practice squads — that can be signed at no cost and upgrade the quarterback room for now.
Willis is 25, but he’s only thrown 67 passes in his NFL career — three interceptions, no touchdowns — so a playoff-caliber team might want a more experienced quarterback to try to give them the best chance of winning until Love is back. Here are some options:
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Ryan Tannehill
Tannehill is easily the most experienced of the available options, opting not to sign anywhere as a free agent after he was done with the Titans. His 2023 wasn’t good — four touchdowns against seven interceptions in eight starts before he lost the job to then-rookie Will Levis. But he’s only two years removed from having a 94.6 quarterback rating for the 2022 season, so it’d just be a matter of getting him in and, like Willis, teaching him a new offense in a hurry.
Green Bay has ample cap space to bring him in — it would be like the Browns last year with Joe Flacco, who came in off the couch and went 4-1 as a fill-in starter, throwing 13 touchdowns in five games. If Green Bay just went 2-2 in the next four games instead of 1-3, that could impact their seeding in the playoffs, or their chances at a division title. And for added drama, Green Bay is playing the Titans in Week 3.
Blaine Gabbert
Gabbert has started only one game in the last four years, in last year’s finale as the Chiefs rested their starters — 150 yards on 30 passes with an interception. But he has experience working with Packers coach Matt LaFleur, who was the offensive coordinator in Tennessee in 2018 when Gabbert started three games, going 2-1. It’s underwhelming, but he’s more experienced than Willis and is available and inexpensive.
C.J. Beathard
Beathard was released by the Jaguars in their final cuts — he won his only start as an injury replacement for Jacksonville last season, but it was against Carolina, so he threw for 178 yards and avoided mistakes in a shutout win. Again, he has experience with the Packers’ staff, spending two years with offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich with the 49ers in 2017-18. It wasn’t necessarily good experience — he went 1-9 as a starter with a middling 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. So he’s underwhelming, but in situations like this, coaches want familiarity if at all possible, something they don’t have with Willis.
Trey Lance
Lance is under contract with Dallas, but it might only take a late-round pick swap to get him in a trade — veteran Cooper Rush is the top backup to Dak Prescott, so the third quarterback is something of a luxury and Lance will be a free agent in the spring.
Lance’s most recent work wasn’t promising — he threw five interceptions this preseason, getting almost all of the Cowboys’ snaps in three exhibition games. He also threw for two scores and ran for two others. He’s not much different from Willis, as a quarterback who was drafted with high expectations but hasn’t really had a chance to play where he’s been. But Lance has thrown 102 passes and has five career touchdowns, so aside from being a few weeks behind in knowing the offense, his resume is arguably stronger than Willis as a short-term spot starter.
Bailey Zappe, 25, Chiefs practice squad
Bailey Zappe
Zappe was cut by the Patriots, passed through waivers and landed in Kansas City, but he has more experience than Willis in his short NFL career. In two seasons, he’s 4-4 as a starter, throwing for 2,053 yards with 11 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. Another young quarterback who can be had for nothing and would give you another option with starting experience — Clifford, while well-versed in Green Bay’s offense, has a total of 13 offensive snaps in his career and one pass attempt.
Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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