The backup quarterback competition behind Jordan Love will be a three-player race entering Green Bay Packers training camp: rookie fifth-round pick Sean Clifford, 2018 seventh-round pick Danny Etling and now USFL MVP Alex McGough, who was signed on Wednesday.
Interestingly enough, Etling and McGough were back-to-back picks in the 2018 draft: Etling went No. 219 to the New England Patriots, while McGough came off the board to the Seattle Seahawks one pick later at No. 220. Now, the two will compete in Green Bay with Clifford, 149th overall pick in the 2022 draft, to be the top backup behind Love.
Like Etling and Clifford, McGough has never appeared in a regular-season NFL game. He spent time with the Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans before eventually starring in the USFL, where he put his name back on the NFL radar with a ridicously good 2023 season. He created 25 touchdowns (league-high 20 passing) over 10 regular season games and then powered the Birmingham Stallions to the USFL title with nine total touchdowns in two playoff games.
McGough has plenty of experience in the NFL training camp setting. He spent camp in 2018 with the Seahawks, camp in 2019 with the Jaguars, camp in 2020 with the Texans and camp in 2021 back with the Seahawks.
Maybe McGough, who is now 27 years old, is ready to take off after revitalizing his football career in the USFL over the last two seasons. The Packers will give him a chance to prove he’s NFL ready this summer.
Green Bay is a good spot in terms of opportunity at quarterback. Clifford played in 51 games over five seasons at Penn State, but he’s a rookie learning a brand new offense. Etling spent one week in Green Bay during the 2021 season and then returned in 2022, when he spent all of training camp in Green Bay and all of the regular season on the Packers practice squad.
A question for Matt LaFleur: How will the Packers split training camp and preseason reps with two young, inexperienced quarterbacks? Three can be difficult enough, even with a veteran starter. Now, the Packers must get Love enough reps while also attempting to both develop three other young passers and identify a capable backup.
Even with four quarterbacks on the roster, the Packers will have three backup quarterback options with exactly zero games of regular season experience behind an expected starter with 83 regular-season passing attempts and one start. It’s nothing if not an interesting depth chart construction of the game’s most important position. If none of the three are up to the challenge, the Packers will have to pick through a shallow group of available veteran quarterbacks before Week 1.
