The Packers are in a strange spot at quarterback. After cutdown day, they’re carrying only two passers and don’t have an obvious in-house third option waiting on the practice squad, which stands out around the league. Plenty of teams kept three quarterbacks, and four clubs even kept four, so Green Bay’s setup looks especially thin after the Dolphins sent them a draft pick for Kyle McCord.
That leaves a simple question: who’s next if Jordan Love or Tyrod Taylor ever has to miss time? There isn’t a clean answer, but there are a few paths Green Bay could take.
One possibility is circling back to Kyron Drones. The Packers signed Drones this offseason on a deal with $5,000 guaranteed, but he lost the QB3 battle in camp to McCord before being waived.
His preseason opener didn’t help his case either. Against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he had four dropbacks, was sacked three times, and one of those came on a screen.
Green Bay eventually moved on without even needing to fill his roster spot right away.
Another route is to scoop up a quarterback who just got cut elsewhere. Some of the names worth watching include Mark Gronowski, Cam Miller, Luke Altmyer, Joey Aguilar, Miller Moss, Will Levis, Hendon Hooker, Kedon Slovis and Adrian Martinez.
Gronowski is at least familiar territory for Green Bay. Scouting sources had told me during this draft cycle that the Packers were interested in Drones, Haynes King and Gronowski as potential pickups.
Drones got his shot in Green Bay, Gronowski ended up in Miami after taking a pre-draft visit there, and King made Carolina’s 53-man roster as a UDFA. King signed for $210,000 guaranteed, while Drones got $5,000, which shows how different those markets were after the draft.
Gronowski could still be a name to keep in mind, though Miami might hang on to him. If that happens, Cam Miller could become available. Miller was a sixth-round pick in the 2026 draft.
A few other young quarterbacks landed in different spots this summer. Along with King, Jalon Daniels and Jack Strand were UDFA quarterbacks who got big guarantees and made their team’s initial 53-man roster.
Altmyer, who had a pre-draft virtual meeting with the Packers, is likely staying with the Detroit Lions since they only have two quarterbacks. Aguilar may be available because the Jacksonville Jaguars have two quarterbacks and released two on Sunday.
Moss looks like the cleanest potential option of the group, since the Chicago Bears kept three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster.
Levis is another name that jumps off the page. He may not make it through waivers unclaimed, but if he does, he would make a lot of sense for Green Bay.
The feeling is that both he and the Titans want to move on, and that he won’t be brought back to Tennessee. If he does end up returning there, that likely means Hendon Hooker won’t be back either.
Hooker was a pre-draft visitor with Green Bay before the Detroit Lions took him 68th overall in 2023.
There are also a couple of quarterbacks with systems that might make the transition easier. Slovis and Martinez both played in “LaFleur-like” offensive systems, so they may not need as much ramp-up time as a typical practice-squad add.
Green Bay also worked out Seth Henigan this offseason. The Packers haven’t done many workouts since camp opened, but Henigan did get a look, so he belongs on the list too.
If the team wants a veteran, Jimmy Garoppolo is out there. Still, that doesn’t sound like the kind of move they’d make for a practice squad spot. For now, experience at QB3 doesn’t seem like the direction here, especially with Tyrod Taylor already handling that side of things.
There may not be a perfect answer right now. The most likely move is probably just finding a scout-team arm and holding the line for the moment. But if the situation ever turns serious because of injury, the veteran market could come back into play fast, with Garoppolo and others getting a hard look on the 53-man roster.
In Other News...
Packers Finalize Their QB3 Plan After Kyle McCord Decision
The Packers have settled on their third-quarterback plan, bringing in former Cardinals passer Kedon Slovis to join the practice squad behind Jordan Love and Tyrod Taylor. General manager Brian Gutekunst confirmed the move in a press conference, giving Green Bay a little more clarity at a position where depth can disappear quickly over the course of a season.
Slovis also comes with a familiar face from the preseason, having played against the Packers in the finale before ending up on their side of the roster decisions. His path has been anything but straightforward, with stops across multiple teams and colleges before landing in Green Bay, and the Packers are now betting that experience can help stabilize the back end of the quarterback room. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Fans Still Have One Clear Standard For No. 56
No. 56 has had a surprisingly deep run through Packers history, with a mix of old-school names and more modern standouts giving the number a little extra weight in Green Bay. Nate Barragar and Ted Hendricks both bring Hall of Fame cachet to the conversation, while Julius Peppers added a short-lived burst of star power during his brief stint with the team.
Still, the standard most Packers fans seem to land on is Nick Barnett, whose eight seasons gave the number its most dependable and complete identity. Barnetts production was steady from year to year, and his 789 tackles and a memorable interception return gave No. 56 the kind of sustained impact that tends to stick in a fan bases memory long after the flashier cases have faded. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Emergency Running Back Plan Is Already Drawing The Wrong Debate
When Josh Jacobs landed on the Commissioners Exempt List, Green Bay had to move quickly to stabilize the backfield, and the front office settled on Kaleb Johnson, acquired from the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was the kind of emergency swing teams make when the season is already moving, with the Packers needing a back who could step in and help absorb snaps while the situation around Jacobs plays out.
The wrinkle is that Johnson was not the only name under consideration. Tyrone Tracy Jr. of the New York Giants was viewed as a possible alternative, but he stayed put after a late preseason performance that helped cement his spot. Tracy also dealt with a minor injury in a recent game before returning to the sideline, while Johnson arrives in Green Bay with limited NFL experience and production, which has already pushed the conversation toward what the Packers might have preferred instead of the player they actually got. [Read more 🡒]