Perfect Packers Offseason Preview: Jordan Love and Quarterbacks

Here is a look at the Green Bay Packers' quarterback situation and what would make this a perfect offseason.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – At quarterback, at least, it will be a drama-free offseason for the Green Bay Packers.

There is no wondering if Aaron Rodgers is going to retire. There’s no waiting out a darkness retreat to Middle of Nowhere, Oregon. There’s no concern about whether there’s a functioning cellphone tower near Rodgers’ locale. There’s no need to listen to The Pat McAfee Show.

Rodgers was a brilliant quarterback, collecting four NFL MVP trophies while leading the Packers to the playoffs one year after another. Rodgers was a headache for defensive coordinators throughout his career; he also became a headache for the Packers and general manager Brian Gutekunst.

The only headache that comes attached to Jordan Love is trying to come up with the proper number of zeroes on his forthcoming contract extension.

Here is an offseason look at the Packers’ quarterback situation.

The Depth Chart

Everything changed in Week 11. That’s when Love took off on a practically unprecedented roll. In the nine games spanning the come-from-behind win over the Chargers in Week 11 to the playoff romp over the Cowboys, Love threw 21 touchdown passes vs. one interception, completed 70.7 percent of his passes and fashioned a 116.6 passer rating.

In NFL history, Matt Ryan (2016 and 2017) and Drew Brees (2018) were the only other quarterbacks with a nine-game stretch with at least 21 touchdown passes, no more than one interception, a completion rate of 70-plus percent and 2,400-plus passing yards. Love was every bit as good as Rodgers during his MVP seasons and his prolific running of the table in 2016.

The Packers rolled the dice by going with rookie fifth-round pick Sean Clifford as the backup to the first-year starter Love. Who knows what would have happened had Clifford been pressed into duty but, thanks to a strong training camp and preseason, there is a 0.0 percent chance the Packers will be looking for a veteran No. 2 in free agency. Clifford doesn’t have elite tools but his arm and athleticism are more than good enough, and he’s got all the intangibles.

Free Agency

With Alex McGough returning after spending the season on the practice squad, all three players are back. Free agency won’t be a concern for at least a few years with the assumption that Love and the Packers will agree to a long-term extension and with Clifford under contract through the 2026 season.

Big Question

Love is eligible to sign a contract extension on May 3. Is that when pen will meet paper?

Beyond that, Love has to prove he’s not a half-year wonder. There’s no reason to believe his sensational second half of the season was a fluke. However, is Love truly the team’s next great quarterback? Or is he merely going to be a good quarterback? With a good quarterback, a team can win it all under the right circumstances. With a great quarterback, the circumstances are almost irrelevant.

The key to it all will be Love’s performance in must-deliver situations. He fell on his face in road losses to Atlanta, Las Vegas, Denver and Pittsburgh. And he did again during the second half of the playoff loss at San Francisco. After leading the Packers to back-to-back touchdowns in the third quarter, Green Bay’s final four possessions ended with an interception, three-and-out punt, missed field goal and interception. He was 5-of-10 for 19 yards and two interceptions during that span.

Clutch play can improve through time and experience, to be sure, but there’s also a “clutch gene.” Some guys have it; some guys don’t. For those who don’t, it’s almost impossible to win a Super Bowl.

A Perfect Offseason

First, the obvious: Love develops into an MVP-level quarterback and Clifford grows into a winning backup.

Beyond that: Back in the day, Ron Wolf was the master. He had Brett Favre as the superstar quarterback but always had one or two capable quarterbacks in the bullpen.

Do the Packers need to draft a quarterback? Definitely not. But what if Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman or Western Kentucky’s Austin Reed fall into the sixth or seventh round? Those would be good schematic and stylistic fits, according to Draft Countdown’s Shane Hallam.

Listed at 6-foot-1, Hartman threw 134 touchdown passes and had 15,656 passing yards, figures that rank first and second, respectively, in ACC history. After four years at Wake Forest, he transferred to Notre Dame and completed 63.5 percent of his passes with 24 touchdowns vs. eight interceptions in 2023. He had a poor Senior Bowl, finishing 7-of-25 passing.

Listed at 6-foot-2, Reed in two seasons at WKU completed 63.2 percent of his passes for 8,084 yards with 71 touchdowns vs. 22 interceptions. He had a strong week at the Shrine Bowl.

NC State’s Brennan Armstrong would be a good fit, too, as a late-round pick or undrafted free agent. Highlighted by his 4,449 passing yards and 31 touchdowns with Virginia in 2021, when Dontayvion Wicks had a huge season, Armstrong finished his career with 10,819 yards and 69 touchdowns.

As a sixth-year senior at NC State, he was benched at one point but regained the starting job. He had 11 touchdowns vs. seven picks for the season. Plus, he’s an excellent runner. “Tough” and “relentless” were the descriptions from coach Dave Doeren, who compared him to Taysom Hill.

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