Now that Malik Willis is officially off to Miami, the Green Bay Packers need a new backup quarterback for Jordan Love. The chances of finding one as sturdy and reliable as Willis were already slim, but when looking at the names available to sign, it only gets worse.
The best names to bring in as a backup, as of this writing, would be Joe Flacco, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Geno Smith, none of whom generate much excitement as a backup for Love. Flacco has made it clear he wants to compete for a starting job, but has also reportedly said if he is a backup somewhere, he'd want it to be in Cincinnati.
Garoppolo and Smith would be fine options, but neither would move the needle much. Garoppolo has spent the past two years as Matthew Stafford's backup in Los Angeles, while Smith flamed out in Las Vegas as the Raiders' starter a year ago.
Packers' backup QB options leave a lot to be desired after losing Malik Willis
If the Packers want to go in an even more underwhelming direction, Trey Lance, Tyrod Taylor, Carson Wentz, and Zach Wilson are names they could consider but hopefully don't. It was always going to be hard to find a better backup than Willis, but the task appears even more challenging now.
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Then again, people probably didn't have much faith in Willis as a backup before he was forced to step in early in the 2024 season after Love was injured. We saw how that turned out. Maybe Matt LaFleur will bring one of these underwhelming names in and work his magic on them the same way he worked his magic on Willis.
While the Packers are fortunate to have Love as their starting quarterback, the sad reality is that he's missed time with injury the past two years.
Willis kept them afloat while Love was out, and now they'll have to find a new backup capable of stepping in and giving them that same level of confidence. Solid backup quarterbacks don't grow on trees, but hopefully, Brian Gutekunst and LaFleur can find someone they believe in enough.