Packers Floated as Trade Option for ‘Developmental’ Backup QB

“If Mills slots in as the Texans’ third-stringer, a team with a questionable backup situation or succession plan, like the Green Bay Packers or Arizona Cardinals — who will probably lean on backup Colt McCoy early in the season — should be working the phones,” Knox wrote.

Davis Mills Has Shown Flashes of Potential for Texans

Let’s not pretend like Mills is an extraordinary quarterback. There’s a reason why the Texans decided it was time to draft a new face of the franchise in 2023 after watching Mills start 26 games for them over the past two seasons. He struggled to win (a 5-19-1 record) with his poor supporting cast and took a step backward in his second year, casting doubt over his long-term future as a starting quarterback in the NFL.

At the same time, Mills could have considerably more appeal than most of the other backup options around the league. The 2021 third-round pick is still just 24 years old and has two more years left on his rookie contract, making him young and affordable. It is also rare to find a third-year backup candidate who has played nearly 1,600 snaps of offense and thrown for more than 5,700 yards in his first two seasons in the league.

If the Packers see enough potential in Mills’ tape, he could be an enticing project for quarterbacks coach Tom Clements — who helped develop Aaron Rodgers, Matt Flynn and Love — to work on in the background of Love’s first season as a starter.

The asking price, of course, could be a big hurdle. If the Texans decide they want to move Mills — and that’s not guaranteed — they could potentially seek as high as a fifth-round pick for him, which is likely too much for the Packers to consider giving up. If the price drops into the range of a conditional sixth-rounder, it could become more of a conversation, but it all depends on how their current backups perform during camp.

Packers Have Three QBs Vying for Backup Job in 2023

While a veteran quarterback addition could make more sense for the Packers toward the end of the summer if they are unimpressed with their current options, there is no reason yet for them not to ride with what they have and see how they perform.

The most important battle will be between returning veteran Danny Etling and fifth-round rookie Sean Clifford for the backup job. Etling showed enough during last year’s preseason to earn himself a practice-squad role as the Packers’ No. 3 quarterback behind Rodgers and Love, completing 22 of his 27 passes for 220 yards, a touchdown and zero interceptions while also adding 73 more yards and a score as a ball-carrier.

Etling will need to be convincingly better than the rookie to avoid the same fate in 2023, though. Etling just turned 29 and, while not expensive, is getting to the point where it is more difficult to develop him than a 25-year-old rookie like Clifford.

The latter is also coming off an impressive final season at Penn State, in which he completed 226 of his 351 passes and threw a career-high 24 touchdown passes while starting in all 13 games. He was also quite sharp in the Nittany Lions’ win over Utah in the Rose Bowl, completing 16 of his 21 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns. If he can find his footing early on in his NFL career, it is possible — perhaps even likely — that he can lock down the top backup job coming into the 2023 season.

The Packers also have a fourth quarterback on the roster now after signing veteran Alex McGough, a USFL MVP who was a standout for the Birmingham Stallions. Like Etling, McGough was a seventh-round pick in the 2018 NFL draft and has played exclusively in the preseason at the NFL level. It might be difficult to expect him to learn the Packers’ playbook on the fly and outperform the other two, but he will have a chance nonetheless.