The Green Bay Packers have no reason to be concerned about their quarterback situation, as Jordan Love is evolving into one of the best at his position in the league and Malik Willis is a very capable backup. The era of worrying about Sean Clifford's preseason progress is over.
Just when it looked like Clifford, who had remained unattached for the first few weeks of the 2025 season, was running out of options at the NFL level, the recent injury sustained by Joe Burrow has left the Cincinnati Bengals in desperate need of someone who could come in and stabilize the depth chart.
The Bengals, who plan to start Jake Browning after the Burrow injury, agreed to sign Clifford to their practice squad. After reportedly trying to contact the Packers to see if they would trade away Willis, Cincinnati decided that the next-best thing would be getting someone from the Green Bay system.
Oddly enough, Cincinnati, who also had longtime backup Brett Rypien on the practice squad, also agreed to terms with former New York Jets backup Mike White. The Bengals now have three backups on their practice squad, which could provide Clifford with fairly even footing as he competes for QB2 behind Browning.
Former Packers QB Sean Clifford signs with Bengals after Joe Burrow injury
The Packers even picking Clifford, whom many believed was not worth of a selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, in the fifth round after an inconsistent career at Penn State raised some eyebrows. In two seasons with the Packers, Clifford rarely saw the field and completed just one pass.
Clifford competed with Canadian standout UDFA Taylor Elgersma for the QB3 role, but it turns out that neither player won that competition. When the Packers signed former Arizona Cardinals backup Clayton Tune to the practice squad, both Clifford and Elgersma were not retained.
The Bengals currently have three quarterbacks on their practice squad. While Rypien and White have a more robust history of performing in the NFL (as limited as their production was), where Clifford stands out is the fact he is a much better runner and pure athlete than both of those two.
While Clifford was never going to see the field in Green Bay, there's a very real scenario in which he steps on the gas and quickly becomes a decent professional quarterback in an offense that is built around getting the quarterback gaudy passing numbers.