Packers want to keep wrong QB on practice squad after shaky preseason

The Green Bay Packers made the somewhat surprising decision to only keep two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. Jordan Love is unquestionably the starter, while Malik Willis, recently acquired in a trade with the Tennessee Titans, will be locked in as the backup.

This is bad news for both Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt. The former was surprisingly selected in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft after a roller coaster career at Penn State, while the latter was selected in the seventh round of the 2024 NFL Draft despite many believing he could be picked very early on Day 3.

After both did not perform up to par in the preseason, Green Bay started viewing them as practice squad players who likely wouldn't be called into action. Oddly enough, it seems like the Packers clearly have one player they prefer to return to the practice squad as their emergency third-stringer.

Per Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated, the Packers want to bring Clifford back on the team's practice squad. As a result, Pratt will likely need to latch on with some other team if he wants to continue his professional career. Considering Pratt has more upside as a thrower than Clifford, this is a bit surprising.

Packers eyeing Sean Clifford as practice squad quarterback over Michael Pratt

Pratt was a four-year starter at Tulane who tore up the Green Wave record books by throwing for 9,600 yards and 90 touchdown passes in college. Many pre-draft big boards rated him as the top Day 3 quarterback available, often slotting him right behind Saints gunslinger Spencer Rattler.

While neither player was particularly good in the preseason, Pratt seemed to outperform Clifford. Pratt completed 23-35 passes (67% completion), while Clifford was 22-43 (51% completion) this preseason. Both had one touchdown pass and one interception, but Pratt had a higher passer rating.

Clifford is more familiar with the offense due to his experience last year. However, if the Packers were always going to give Clifford the benefit of the doubt due to his history with the team, it seems like Pratt never had much of a true chance to make the final roster.

Pratt will need to look to other practice squads or bide his time and wait for injuries to take hold of quarterback rooms throughout the league. This is a shame, as Clifford is likely not viewed by the team as a viable quarterback if called into action.