Packers will exploit new NFL rule to get better at a premium position

It's almost training camp time for the Green Bay Packers, so it's time to evaluate each position group on the roster.

Quarterbacks

How much difference a year can make, right? Going into training camp last season, everyone was just trying to figure out how good Jordan Love was, tracking OTAs throws, speculating based off of old tape. Now, Love comes back as a consolidated above average starter — at the least. From week 9 of last season on, Love was the best quarterback in football according to PFF grades, which included 13 big-time throws under pressure. His command of the offense significantly improved, and he became more comfortable to show his skills.

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"You expect guys to continue to push and get better, and better, and better. The command that he has of the offense. I know the guys, they all respect the hell out of him — just in terms of who he is as a man and the work that he puts in. He's so consistent," head coach Matt LaFleur said during OTAs. "He shows up every day with a great attitude and just being one of the guys."

Behind Love

Now, most questions about Love have been answered. With that in mind, the biggest quarterback storylines will come from the backups Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt.

Last year, the Packers needed a backup to Love and didn't have decent cap space to add a veteran — that's why they overdrafted Clifford in the fifth-round, based on the consensus perception of the player.

Before this year's draft, general manager Brian Gutekunst mentioned he wanted to go back to the days where the Packers took quarterbacks with some regularity, and when the opportunity presented itself, he pulled the trigger on Michael Pratt in the seventh round. Now, both draft picks will compete for the QB2 job.

Competition

Sean Clifford was a fifth-round pick and has more experience with Matt LaFleur's scheme, so he enters training camp as the immediate backup. But Pratt was impressive in the offseason activities, and he was seen as the better prospect by the external draft community.

"Perhaps biggest surprise fall in entire draft," Jim Nagy, Senior Bowl Executive Director

wrote on social media. "Most teams we spoke with had 3rd/4th grades. Elevated Tulane program. Plays QB position well. Accurate touch thrower, athletic enough to escape, and extremely tough. Had a higher grade on Pratt than Clifford a year ago. Solid No. 2 floor and wouldn't shock us if he eventually became a starter in the right situation. Might be old-school Ron Wolf flip-for-higher-pick in a few years."

In last year's preseason, though, Sean Clifford played well — and that "gamer" status can help him keep the job unless Pratt is clearly better.

The Packers also have Alex McGough on the roster. He has been moved to wide receiver, but is a viable quarterback if needed.

Rules

To reinforce the idea to keep three quarterbacks, the Packers are operating based on recent NFL rule changes. In 2023, the league implemented the idea of an emergency quarterback to avoid what happened with the San Francisco 49ers in the 2022 NFC Championship Game, when both Brock Purdy and Josh Johnson got hurt — Purdy had to re-enter the game just to handoff.

So if a team wants, they can put a third (and inactive) quarterback on the field.

The league tweaked the rules again this offseason. Now, teams are allowed to elevate a third quarterback from the practice squad an unlimited number of times during the season. However, a team can only elevate two players per game, and a practice squad player can be signed by another team at any point.

Therefore, the Packers can realistically keep three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. Being a prospect like Pratt was, it's unlikely that he would clear waivers for the Packers to sign him to the practice squad.

The only realistic scenario for Green Bay to keep one of them on the PS is if they cut Clifford, not Pratt, and he goes unclaimed — but that can also be a major risk.

It's quarterback development time in Green Bay again, so it makes sense to stack them and see where that approach takes the team.

Related: Packers fulfill promise and draft developmental quarterback in the seventh round of the NFL Draft