The Packers have more QB options than Sean Clifford, Michael Pratt

In two preseason games in which starting quarterback Jordan Love threw just two balls, Green Bay Packers backups Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt have combined to complete 31 balls out of 52 attempts for just 252 yards, no passing touchdowns and one interception this summer. After the Packers’ 27-2 loss to the Denver Broncos, head coach Matt LaFleur made it clear that the team needed to see a better performance from that unit.

But what if the Packers’ backup quarterback for 2024 isn’t on the roster right now? We all know that each of the 32 franchises in the NFL is in the process of trimming their 90-man (or 91-man) rosters down to 53 players, but who is on the hook at the quarterback position? Well, I decided to look into an answer to that question.

First off, I think if Green Bay is looking for an outside passer, they probably want someone with game experience, especially considering how quick the transition is from cutdowns to an international regular-season opener. Ourlads does a good job of tracking depth charts, so I used them to identify third and fourth quarterbacks who have played a bit in the league, at least 100 pass attempts. The last filter I checked is what I’ll call the “Pratt-Clifford” line, sort of like the Mendoza line for our conversation. Pratt currently has an adjusted yards per attempt (AY/A) of 4.3. Clifford is at 3.8. I would assume the Packers, who have already said they want to be more productive in the passing game off the bench, would look for a number that’s higher.

For those unfamiliar with AY/A, it is tied to wins rather than passer rating. Essentially, it is yards per attempt that treats passing touchdowns as 20-yard bonus gains and penalizes quarterbacks for interceptions by 45 yards.

With all that said, here are all of the league’s third and fourth quarterbacks who had at least 100 attempts in the regular season and passed the newly created Pratt-Clifford line, in order of their career AY/A.

Third and fourth-string quarterbacks passing the Pratt-Clifford line

• Trey Lance, Dallas Cowboys (7.5 AY/A)
• Desmond Ridder, Arizona Cardinals (6.5)
• Case Keenum, Houston Texans (6.5)
• CJ Beathard, Jacksonville Jaguars (injured) (6.5)
• Taylor Heinicke, Atlanta Falcons (6.4)
• Tommy DeVito, New York Giants (6.3)
• Kyle Allen, Pittsburgh Steelers (6.1)
• Brandon Allen, San Francisco 49ers (5.9)
• Jeff Driskel, Washington Commanders (5.8)
• Bailey Zappe, New England Patriots (5.7)
• Zach Wilson, Denver Broncos (5.7)
• Tyler Huntley, Cleveland Browns (5.3)
• Sam Ehlinger, Indianapolis Colts (4.9)
• PJ Walker, Seattle Seahawks (4.5)

As you can see, the Packers have some options. Some teams could add three quarterbacks to their roster, as I suspected the Cowboys (Lance) and Cardinals (Ridder) would, but not every one of those quarterbacks will be able to survive cuts, especially given the number of special teams players teams will want to keep until the kickoff coverage and kickoff return meta is sorted out. The X-factor here is a quarterback like Ryan Tannehill (career AY/A of 7.1) who is willing to take a full-time backup job in Green Bay for a halfway decent price. Right now, the Packers have about $23 million in salary cap space to play around with for the remainder of the 2024 season, including the cost of replacing players who end up on the injured list and paying the practice squad.

Some may be asking, “Who cares what Case Keenum did in 2016?” To that end, I also looked at the 2024 preseason numbers (warning: small sample size) for all 14 qualified veteran reserve quarterbacks who passed the Clifford Pratt line. All but one, Tyler Huntley of the Cleveland Browns, had better preseasons than the Packers’ backups. Funnily enough, Zach Wilson, who just helped Denver beat Green Bay, is one of the best players on the list in recent memory.

So if you’re looking to create a small watch list for the final week of the preseason in hopes of getting a look at a potential future Packers QB2, this is the list you’ll probably want to work with. Whether these players have a pass or can get one quickly for the team’s regular season opening game in Brazil is another story.