Getty Packers quarterback Sean Clifford.
The Green Bay Packers have their starting quarterback position figured out after signing Jordan Love to a four-year, $220 million contract extension last week. Their backup quarterback job, though? That’s another issue entirely.
Love is now back on the field for the Packers at training camp after missing their first four practices while negotiating his new contract, but his time away gave the Packers ample opportunities to assess the growth of returning backup Sean Clifford heading into his second season. Unfortunately, Clifford did little to help his roster case.
According to The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman, Clifford threw five total interceptions during the team’s first three practices while working with the first-team offense. He also threw two more picks in team periods on July 27 during Love’s first practice back. Suffice it to say, Clifford’s poor start has generated a bit of a quarterback controversy.
Clifford’s struggles have been so evident that Acme Packing Co.’s Justis Mosqueda has even predicted the 26-year-old quarterback will miss the team’s 53-man roster heading into the 2024 season if he is not able to turn his luck around over the next month.
“If Clifford’s tough summer continues, it’s going to be hard for him to keep the backup job he held onto as a rookie last season,” Mosqueda wrote on July 29. “The team’s other options on the roster are seventh-round rookie Michael Pratt and Jacob Eason, who was only signed several days into Jordan Love’s holdout and may not be on the 91-man roster for much longer.”
Sean Clifford Could Save Job With Strong Preseason
Clifford — a 2023 fifth-round pick — finds himself in much different standing with the Packers than he was a year ago. As a rookie, he convincingly won the backup job behind Love with strong performances in 2023 training camp and the preseason. He completed 71.9% of his passes (41 of 57 on 60 dropbacks) for 391 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions and added three runs of at least 10 yards over his three performances.
In the end, Clifford finished as the fourth-highest-graded rookie quarterback (77.5) of the 2023 preseason, according to Pro Football Focus.
That said, Clifford did not see much playing time following the preseason. He played just 16 total offensive snaps between the regular season and playoffs, typically coming into the game for the final series either to hand the ball off or kneel down to run out the remaining clock. To be fair, the Packers did not need Clifford to be anything other than a human victory cigar, but his development stayed behind the scenes as a consequence.
Now, Clifford is in a tough spot. A rough start to camp likely puts him behind where the team wanted him to be. There is time for him to salvage things, but it may come down to how he plays in the preseason again — and he’ll have more competition this time.
The Packers selected Pratt in this year’s draft to push Clifford for the backup job in 2024. Pratt got progressively better in each of his four seasons at Tulane, completing a career-high 65.4% of his passes while throwing 22 touchdowns to five interceptions in 2023. He is still a green rookie who must earn his stripes, but the Packers will surely test him alongside Clifford during their exhibitions.
And if Pratt shows promise, Clifford could lose his spot.
Could Packers Instead Carry 3 QBs on 2024 Roster?
Of course, the Packers do not necessarily have to take an either-or approach with their backup quarterbacks. As a team that tends to give its drafted players some runway, the Packers could instead carry three quarterbacks on their roster into the 2024 season.
The Packers rostered three quarterbacks during Love’s rookie season in 2020, keeping veteran Tim Boyle in the fold as Aaron Rodgers’ primary backup while letting their first-round rookie properly develop behind the scenes. The Packers moved away from that strategy the next year and have only kept two quarterbacks on their initial 53-man rosters over the past three years, but they could reconsider in 2024 with two projects.
Clifford would need to bottom out over the next several weeks for Green Bay to outright give up on the 2023 fifth-round selection. Perhaps Pratt will miss the cut instead if he does not look NFL-ready during the preseason, but the Packers could have difficulty stashing either one of them on their practice squad given the prestige of the position.
The safer strategy — if the Packers believe both Clifford and Pratt are still moldable — is to keep both of them on the 53-man roster and extend their window for figuring out which of them is better suited for their team in the long run. Competitive demands at other positions could make rostering three difficult, but head coach Matt LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst talk constantly about the value of quarterbacks.
If both show potential, why not keep them both and short-change another position that will have an easier time getting alternative options back on the practice squad?