Brian Gutekunst does tend so favor his draft picks so you would think it’s Clifford’s job to lose. Meanwhile, Clifford is a fifth-round pick who doesn’t have a great arm and had accuracy concerns coming out of Penn State. While he does have a year in the system under his belt, he is a 28-year-old journeyman without much of a ceiling. Etling went through the process last year and was good enough to earn a spot on the practice squad. Both did fine during the offseason program, but everything is going to ramp up once training camp starts. It’s a difficult question to answer without seeing either Danny Etling or Sean Clifford in action. While it would be a prudent signing to make, for the reasons mentioned, I think the Packers stay put with their current quarterback room. Green Bay spent a fifth-round pick on Clifford, have spoken highly of him since the draft, and want to develop him as well, so I’m assuming they wouldn’t be willing to put him on the practice squad, where another team could sign him. I’ll also guess that signing a veteran backup would mean the Packers are going to keep three quarterbacks on the 53-man in order to roster Sean Clifford, which means one less roster spot at another position. According to Ken Ingalls, who independently tracks the Packers salary cap situation, Green Bay’s effective cap space - or what they have to spend - is just $1.2 million. Any addition would have to be willing to sign for a very modest contract. However, there is always give and take with these decisions.
PACKERS BACKUP QB TO SEATTLE FREE
A few of the remaining free agent options include Teddy Bridgewater, Joe Flacco, and Nick Foles. Having that experience on the sidelines, in the film room, and on the practice field as an extra set of eyes to share what they see and the why behind it with Jordan Love could be quite valuable in his first season as a starter.
I think signing a veteran backup quarterback makes a lot of sense for the Packers. If Clifford shows capability during camp and the preseason, maybe he can emerge as Matt Flynn 2.0. Then again, Aaron Rodgers had rookies Matt Flynn and Brian Brohm as his backups in 2008 and everything turned out fine. I’d guess the Packers start camp with Love, Etling and Clifford but end it with Love, Clifford and a veteran. Matt LaFleur doesn’t like splitting reps between four quarterbacks, so eventually swapping out Etling for a quarterback with legitimate NFL experience is probably the right move. Do the Packers think Etling can come in and play quality regular-season snaps if something happened to Love? I can’t imagine they do, and going into the season with Clifford as the top backup would be playing with fire. The Packers check two of the three boxes with Jordan Love as the starter and fifth-round pick Sean Clifford as the young quarterback to develop long-term. I think, when picturing an ideal situation, every team would want a quarterback room featuring an undisputed starter, a quality backup who can play in a pinch, and a developmental option.
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