The Packers may have to scramble a little if they want Kyle McCord to stay put.
For most of the summer, the expectation was straightforward: Green Bay would move on from McCord before Sunday’s roster cutdown deadline, carry Tyrod Taylor as Jordan Love’s backup, and stick to the usual two-quarterback setup. Taylor sitting out the preseason finale only strengthened that read. The message looked pretty clear.
Then the Miami Dolphins complicated everything.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Miami is waiving quarterback Cam Miller, which leaves the Dolphins without a backup to former Packer Malik Willis. And with the way that front office and coaching staff are tied to Green Bay, McCord suddenly looks like a very natural name for them to circle.
The Dolphins have earned the “Packers South” label for a reason. In January, they brought in Packers vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan as their next general manager.
Sullivan had been Brian Gutekunst’s right-hand man in Green Bay. He later hired Jeff Hafley as head coach and then signed Malik Willis to be the QB1.
That connection matters here because McCord has done enough this preseason to attract attention. He’s thrown for 446 yards and four touchdowns without an interception, and he flashed the kind of throws that turn heads in the win over the Arizona Cardinals on Friday night.
Taylor, meanwhile, has not exactly locked down the job with his August work. The 37-year-old has completed just 50 percent of his passes in the preseason and is averaging a modest 2.4 yards per attempt.
So the Packers are staring at a familiar roster question: do they really want to keep three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster? That’s rarely a simple call, and it usually happens when a team is protecting a young passer who still needs time.
Love was that kind of player in 2020 as QB3, but McCord’s situation is different. At best, he looks like a long-term QB2.
That leaves Gutekunst with the real decision: has McCord done enough to push past Taylor on the depth chart? The Packers’ recent actions suggest otherwise, and Taylor not taking a snap in the preseason finale says plenty.
Still, Green Bay had likely hoped McCord would slip through waivers and land back on the practice squad. Miami may have changed that plan in a hurry. Gutekunst could be looking at a last-minute reshuffle if he wants McCord to remain in Green Bay.
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