Green Bay Packers third string QB competition comes down to next week
LANDOVER, MD – AUGUST 19: Quarterback Taysom Hill
GREEN BAY, WI – AUGUST 18: Joe Callahan
Green Bay Packers and quarterback controversy are not often included in a single sentence.
Right?
The controversy, while real, is not for the starting job – it’s for third string.
That is, if the Packers keep three quarterbacks on the full 53-man roster when it’s announced after the preseason ends.
The mass exodus of nearly 40 players from training camp rosters scheduled to occur across the league next week may include either Packers QBs Joe Callahan or Taysom Hill.
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At this point, the controversy hangs because neither of them saw the field last night at Denver. If you didn’t know, the Packers lost, 20-17, to the Broncos, in a game where only Aaron Rodgers and Brett Hundley played.
It was really the Hundley show last night as Rodgers played just two series and then hit the showers.
Hundley went the distance in the loss and Hill and Callahan stood by on the sidelines.
They will have to wait until this coming Thursday to have a chance to fight for a job.
You may remember last week when Callahan went into the second preseason game against the Washington Redskins as the presumed number three.
However, it was the play of Hill that turned heads.
Hill led the team not only to the winning touchdown, but scored it himself on a courageous scramble and run for 23 yards – bulling his way through, around and past the Washington defenders.
Hill’s play over Callahan easily brought the competition to neck-and-neck status, if not hedging on the side of Hill.
This coming Thursday should be the Hill vs. Callahan show when the Packers host the Los Angeles Rams in the fourth and final preseason game.
Though I’ve seen nothing yet about the playing time split for next Thursday, my guess is that each gets a half to play.
Whatever decisions are made by McCarthy about the quarterback plan for Thursday’s game, it’s bound to be fun to finally have a chance to see two guys competing at this specific position.
We’ve been so spoiled these past couple of decades-plus with Favre and Rodgers the starter going into training camp and for an entire season.
Sans the Aaron Rodgers collarbone season, the Packers’ stability at quarterback has been legendary.
Will it be Callahan? Will it be Hill?
Will both not make the roster?
Maybe the Packers decide to roll the dice at the position and go only with Rodgers and Hundley. Maybe they cut Callahan and stash Hill on the practice squad …
In my honest opinion, a decision to go with just two QBs would be risky. We hope McCarthy learned his lesson during that broken collarbone season about how important it is to be deep at the position.
Frankly, I really like both Hill and Callahan and would love it if the team could find a way to keep both. Though unlikely, whichever direction the team decides, they will have a talented backup.
Callahan – the quarterback who reminds me most of Brett Favre – can play. But take a look at Hill. Though his injury history is ugly, one can see why he’s been injured so much. A running QB gets hurt.
Balancing those pros and cons will be the job of McCarthy and Ted Thompson.
Next: Top 30 moments in Green Bay Packers history
Stay tuned … this could be a wild ride.