Packers need to find a new backup to Aaron Rodgers in 2018
The Green Bay Packers need to find a new backup to Aaron Rodgers in 2018.
Nick Foles is heading to the Super Bowl.
He found a way to overcome Minnesota’s elite defense, and did so on a grand stage. Foles brilliantly led the Eagles past the Vikings in the NFC Championship Game, throwing for 352 yards and three touchdowns.
Foles and the Eagles have found a way to get it done, even with Carson Wentz sidelined due to a torn ACL.
The Packers couldn’t do the same when Aaron Rodgers went down.
Brett Hundley was the starter when the Vikings visited Lambeau four weeks ago. He threw for just 130 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions. Green Bay was shutout at home.
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And that performance summed up Hundley’s season. Without Rodgers, the Packers’ offense fell apart. Hundley threw just nine touchdown passes all year with 12 picks.
It shows the importance of the backup quarterback.
Foles’ opposite number on Sunday night was former teammate Case Keenum. He, too, started the season as a backup and was forced into action due to injury.
Yet with almost an entire season with Keenum in at quarterback, the Vikings rolled on, securing an NFC North title and making it within a game of the Super Bowl.
Hundley had his moments. He was effective in the Packers’ narrow defeat to the Steelers. That evening he threw three touchdown passes and had the offense humming. But these days were few and far between.
Ted Thompson traded up to land Hundley in the 2015 NFL Draft. He made a commitment to draft and develop the UCLA product so that in the event of a Rodgers injury, the team could survive. The plan didn’t work.
Signing an experienced quarterback to be the backup might be the best approach moving forward.
Foles and Keenum prove that it’s possible to win with backups, but it’s important to find the right one. Would Hundley have found similar success to them in Philadelphia or Minnesota this year?
Green Bay should be in the market for a new quarterback to, at the very least, provide some competition for the backup job.
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What are your thoughts? Should Hundley remain the backup, or should the Packers add another quarterback this offseason?