Green Bay Packers fans were left wondering who the team's third quarterback would be after seeing both Taylor Elgersma and Sean Clifford get cut.
Them being left off the final 53-man roster isn't shocking, though not planning to bring either back to the practice squad raised more questions. However, the dust has quickly settled courtesy of the NFL's waiver wire, which they used to add Clayton Tune instead.
The Packers are reportedly rolling with Tune and have signed him to the practice squad, per Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated. He'll slot in as the understudy to Malik Willis, who's firmly locked in as franchise centerpiece Jordan Love's primary backup. Letting go of Elgersma and Clifford foreshadowed a corresponding transaction, and now Green Bay has clarity.
Packers' shockingly turn to Clayton Tune for QB3 help, not Sean Clifford or Taylor Elgersma
Clifford is a 2023 fifth-round pick who's only attempted one regular-season pass as a pro, and Elgersma is an undrafted free agent rookie. It's not like the Packers have invested significant resources in them, which makes pivoting to Tune easy in theory.
Nevertheless, in practice, Green Bay is handing clipboard duties to someone who isn't familiar with head coach Matt LaFleur's offensive scheme. That alone is surprising and grounds for concern.
Tune doesn't have much more experience than the alternative options Green Bay chose to move on from and has a near-identical draft pedigree to Clifford. Nonetheless, he brings a different perspective and voice to the position group, which could be a breath of fresh air (like it's been with Willis). Moreover, as a former college star at the University of Houston, there's at least some semblance of plausible upside worth chasing.
Entering his age-26 campaign, Tune isn't far removed from back-to-back American Conference completion percentage crowns. He also paced the league in passing yards (4,074) and touchdowns (40) as a fifth-year senior in 2022. Notably, the ex-Cardinal's numbers improved across the board in his final two collegiate seasons when Packers first-round rookie wide receiver Matthew Golden attended Houston.
For whatever it's worth, Arizona only turned to Tune to make a start once across two years, and it couldn't have gone much worse. He completed 11-of-20 passes for 58 scoreless yards, almost piling up as many lost sack yards (41), with two interceptions and a lost fumble. Yet, the Packers ostensibly have more faith in him to emerge than Clifford or Elgersma.