NFL's last-minute rule tweak can have a big impact on Packers' QB decision

The NFL doesn't stop changing roster rules. Right now, a day before the final roster cuts, the league decided to revert back to the 2023 rules regarding the emergency quarterback.

Earlier this year, the NFL had decided to allow quarterbacks on the practice squad to be elevated for gameday and designated as the emergency QB3. But now, it won't apply. For a QB to be eligible for this rule, he has to be on the active 53-man roster .

Packers impact

The Green Bay Packers are still evaluating the quarterback position . Jordan Love is the obvious starter, but backups Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt competed throughout training camp and preseason for the QB2 job.

With this rule tweak, general manager Brian Gutekunst might be more inclined to keep both Clifford and Pratt on the 53-man roster. This way, if Love and the immediate backup get hurt in the same game, Green Bay will be allowed to have an extra active player for gameday.

If the Packers waive Clifford or Pratt and bring him (or them) back to the practice squad, the player won't be allowed to be the emergency QB. He could still be elevated for gameday, but to be active he would have to occupy a 48-man gameday spot.

According to Tom Pelissero, from NFL Network , "Allowing teams to elevate the third QB each week would have amounted to a sort of legal stashing, which the union doesn't want." So basically the rule has been vetoed by the NFLPA.

Sean Clifford was drafted by the Packers in the fifth round last year, and spent his rookie season as Love's immediate backup. In 2023, Green Bay spent the entire season with only two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. Alex McGough was on the practice squad, but was never elevated for gameday.

This year, the Packers drafted Michael Pratt as a developmental quarterback in the seventh-round. The last time Green Bay kept three quarterbacks was in 2020, Jordan Love's rookie year, when the Packers also had Aaron Rodgers and immediate backup Tim Boyle on the active roster.

Related: Packers roster cuts tracker: Green Bay builds its initial 2024 53-man roster