The writing was on the wall immediately after the Green Bay Packers' preseason opener.
Unsurprisingly, the team has announced that it is waiving quarterback Kyron Drones. It was an inevitable move and tells us exactly where things stand in the quarterback room.
Jordan Love and Tyrod Taylor are the undisputed top two on the depth chart, and they will likely be the only quarterbacks who make the 53-man roster. Drones was battling with Kyle McCord for the QB3 spot.
McCord played the majority of the snaps on Thursday night, completing 12 of 16 passes for 102 yards. His high percentage of playing time already told us he was winning the QB3 battle, but Drones' late-game struggles all but ended it.
The undrafted rookie entered the game late in the fourth quarter. In that time, he only attempted one pass, an incompletion to Kisean Johnson, but took three sacks. Drones appeared to struggle with the speed of the game in front of him and took too long to get the ball out of his hands.
Kyron Drones release ends the Packers' QB battle after one preseason game
Green Bay may add another camp arm for the remaining two preseason games, but it's clearer than ever that the team views McCord as the QB3.
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Of course, that doesn't guarantee he'll still be on the team in Week 1. Unless the Packers roster three quarterbacks, they would have to waive McCord and hope another team doesn't claim him. If he clears waivers, the Packers could sign him to their practice squad.
Hopefully Drones will get another opportunity in the NFL. He has talent and caught attention after the 2026 NFL Draft.
Bill Huber of Packers On SI reported in April that the Packers had held a pre-draft visit with a quarterback Huber had been "asked to not report." That was unusual. We later discovered the unknown quarterback was Drones, and the Packers signed him immediately after the draft.
Green Bay hoped Drones' rare athleticism and dual-threat abilities could give them a talented young quarterback to develop.
There were undeniably areas to improve as a passer. Over three seasons at Virginia Tech, Drones completed just 58.3 percent of his passes, throwing for 5,566 yards, 44 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions, good for a 128.2 passer rating.
He could beat defenses on the ground, though, rushing for an outstanding 1,798 yards and 20 touchdowns across those three seasons.
It just wasn't the right time for the Packers. Drones is still a long way off from being ready. McCord is hardly a finished product, but he looked more capable of playing meaningful football than Drones. It's fair to say that the 2026 undrafted rookie offers higher upside, given his skill set, but he needed to show more at training camp to have a realistic chance of winning the QB3 battle.
McCord's solid performance in the preseason opener, paired with Drones' struggles and lack of game time, made it clear. McCord is the QB3. The Packers' decision to waive Drones felt inevitable.
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