Packers 2024 Preview: Quarterbacks

[MaxPack]

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images Sean Clifford vs. rookie Michael Pratt is the camp battle to watch at the position this summer. With rookie minicamp behind us, it’s finally time to look at the Green Bay Packers’ complete 91-man roster. Over the next two weeks, we’re going to touch on every single player in a position group until we conclude with the specialists on May 24th. Below is our full schedule for this series:

• May 13th: Quarterbacks
• May 14th: Running Backs
• May 15th: Receivers
• May 16th: Tight Ends
• May 17th: Offensive Linemen
• May 19th: Defensive Tackles
• May 19th: Defensive Ends
• May 20th: Linebackers
• May 21st: Cornerbacks
• May 22nd: Safeties
• May 23rd: Specialists

First up on the docket is quarterback, where the major story this summer is going to be who is going to win the backup job. Without further ado, let’s get into the three passers on the Packers’ roster. Jordan Love Obviously, Jordan Love is the Packers’ quarterback of the future — as well as the present. From Week 11 through the Wildcard Round of the playoffs, Love threw 21 touchdowns to just one interception, numbers that easily would have put him in the MVP race had the start of his 2023 campaign not started so quietly. That Week 11 game against the Los Angeles Chargers also marked the first time in nearly two full seasons that the Packers had thrown for 300 yards in any individual game. At this point, the only question is just how much Love will make on his upcoming extension. At the moment, Love is set to play 2024 on the one-year extension that the Packers offered him when they turned down his fifth-year option back in 2023. Green Bay was unable to offer him an extension, due to the rule about offering a player a deal shortly after agreeing to a previous extension, until after the draft. Locking up Love long-term seems to be a priority for the Packers, as general manager Brian Gutekunst has stated several times that the team wants to go about it “the right way” in sessions with the media. If for whatever reason Love’s camp and Green Bay can’t agree on a price before the 2024 regular season kicks off, though, there could be an incredible amount of money on the line with Love’s performance this year. At this point, it wouldn’t be crazy to believe that Love can ink a deal in the ballpark of a $50 million per season contract — depending on the structure of the deal. Now that the growing pains of the Packers’ offense are behind them — hopefully — Love has the potential to reset the quarterback market if he’s allowed to play out the 2024 season, something I’m sure Green Bay wouldn’t want to happen. At the same time, an early injury to Love in 2024 would mean that he would potentially have to hit the free agency market in 2025 with only a half-season of good tape on his record at 26 years old. The unknown is something both sides probably want to avoid, which is why a deal is likely to get done before Love takes his next full-contact hit. Sean Clifford Last season, the Packers had relatively no options for backup quarterbacks going into the 2023 draft. Alex McGough, a veteran who signed with the team via the USFL, only was added to the roster on July 19th, after he won the USFL MVP Award. McGough has also now been officially converted to a wide receiver, by the way, a position he saw practice squad snaps at last year. So when the Packers were on the clock in the fifth round and used a draft choice on Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford, the alternative was just having Danny Elting — a converted receiver himself — being Love’s backup in Year 1 of the Utah State product as a starter. That, obviously, wasn’t much of an insurance plan. The problem was that a flurry of quarterbacks were drafted before the Packers were able to make their pick in the fifth round. From pick #127 to pick #148, the following passers were taken off the board: Jake Haener, Stetson Bennett, Aidan O’Connell, Clayton Tune and Dorian Thompson-Robinson. In what felt to many as a panic pick at the time, Green Bay turned in their fifth-round choice for Clifford, who was ranked as an undrafted free agent on many draft analysts’ boards, despite playing at a major program. As a rookie, Clifford only had to see action in two games, leading to three kneel-downs and one pass that was completed for 37 yards. In the NFL preseason, though, he completed 41 of 57 passes for 391 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions while taking no sacks. Those aren’t overly impressive numbers, but it was enough to show the Packers that he was QB2 caliber while the team was put between a rock and a hard place with their cap crunch and the fourth-fifth-round quarterback run in the 2023 draft. Going into the 2024 season, he should be competing with rookie seventh-round pick Michael Pratt for the team’s QB2 spot again, a battle that should last throughout the preseason. Michael Pratt Speaking of Michael Pratt, this brings us to our third and final quarterback on the list. The 2023 AAC Offensive Player of the Year was drafted by the Packers this season with the 245th overall pick in the draft. Like Clifford, Pratt was a highly successful college quarterback who didn’t necessarily have the arm strength that wowed scouts during the pre-draft process. At Tulane, the 6’2”, 200-pound passer threw for 9,611 yards and 90 touchdowns (to 26 interceptions) over 1,204 passes. The 22-year-old owns virtually every career passing record in the program’s history, though, he did fall short of many of Patrick Ramsey’s, Shaun King’s and J.P. Losman’s single-season records. Pratt brings a little bit more of a dynamic ability to the Packers’ quarterback room, at least over fellow backup Clifford. With Tulane, Pratt was able to record 1,147 rushing yards (which includes sack numbers) and 28 touchdowns on the ground. He also was something close to a magnet for contact with the Green Wave, as he wasn’t afraid of throwing his shoulder down for a few extra yards. In his final three seasons at Tulane, he missed games due to three separate injuries: a concussion, a shoulder injury and an injury to his knee. Many expected him to be drafted higher in the 2024 class, but there was a several-round gap in the quarterback run, as none were drafted between Bo Nix (12th overall) and Spencer Rattler (150th). For example, The Athletic’s Dan Brugler, one of the most respected draft analysts, had Pratt graded as a “third-fourth round” prospect. Pratt was also the only quarterback selected in the final 39 picks of the 2024 draft and just one of three who were picked after the fifth round. While it’s uncertain who the Packers will name QB2 going into the summer, Pratt must have shown enough at rookie minicamp to fend off former NFL draft pick Jacob Eason, who was brought in as a tryout player but didn’t sign with Green Bay following those set of practices. Gutekunst seems to be giving Clifford and Pratt plenty of room to breathe, which should translate to an interesting battle for the backup spot this summer.

https://www.acmepackingcompany.com/2024 ... hael-pratt