Packers decide to shrink competition at premium position with latest roster move

The Green Bay Packers’ quarterback room is back to three players once again. On Monday, general manager Brian Gutekunst decided to release veteran passer Jacob Eason two weeks after he had been signed.

Eason, a former fourth-round pick, was initially signed by the Packers when starting quarterback Jordan Love was holding-in before he got a four-year contract extension . He was basically a camp arm to complement what the Packers have in day 3 picks Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt.

Now that Love has already signed his new deal , it made more sense to move on from Eason, allowing the three quarterbacks they do want to develop to have extra practice reps.

Backup battle

While Jordan Love is obviously the uncontested long-term starter, the Packers are having an intriguing ( even though underwhelming ) battle for the QB2 job. Clifford, a fifth-round pick in 2023, is the incumbent. However, he hasn’t been that good in practice.

The option is Michael Pratt. Even though he is a seventh-round rookie, he is widely seen as a better prospect than Clifford — which included a higher Madden rating .

With extra reps in practice and preseason games, the Packers’ expectation is that it will be easier to figure out who’s the better option.

Over the last couple of years, the Packers have carried only two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, and a third one on the practice squad — last year, beyond Love and Clifford, Green Bay had former USFL MVP Alex McGough.

However, Gutekunst has already used three roster spots for quarterbacks. In 2020, Love’s rookie season, he was quarterback 3, behind Aaron Rodgers and Tim Boyle. That was a very specific scenario, though, because the Packers obviously didn’t want to expose Love before they felt he was ready to play.

Jacob Eason has been in the NFL since 2020. He has played for the Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks, Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers, and New York Giants. If the Packers waive Clifford or Pratt on final cuts and this piece ends up claimed by another team, Eason would be an obvious option to make the team's practice squad.

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