Packers Training Camp Preview: Quarterbacks

As much as coach Matt LaFleur talks about the importance of everybody doing their one-eleventh, one of those elevenths is more important than the others. The reality is the Green Bay Packers will go as far as Jordan Love can take them.

With the first practice of training camp set for July 23, here is a look at the Green Bay Packers’ quarterbacks.

Coming and Going

Last year’s trio of starter Jordan Love, backup Malik Willis and practice-squad player Sean Clifford are back. Added to the group is talented Canadian import Taylor Elgersma.

Biggest Battle

Jordan Love will start and Malik Willis will be the backup. That’s obvious. Who will be the No. 3, whether that player is on the 53-man roster or on the practice squad? That battle will come down to Sean Clifford and Taylor Elgersma.

Clifford won the backup role as a fifth-round pick in 2023. He is a gunslinger who can make things happen – both good and bad. In last year’s battle against seventh-round draft pick Michael Pratt, Clifford struggled during training camp and couldn’t make up for it in the preseason. That necessitated the end-of-camp addition of Willis.

Enter Elgersma, who won Canada’s version of the Heisman Trophy last year. He performed well enough in two U.S. all-star games to get invited to the prestigious Senior Bowl. He went undrafted and unsigned before earning a spot as a tryout player at Green Bay’s rookie camp.

Clifford is the known commodity. Elgersma has the arm talent and upside. It will all come down to Elgersma’s ability to master Green Bay’s offensive system, the techniques taught by position coach Sean Mannion and coach Matt LaFleur and the nuances of the American game.

Before earning attention at the Senior Bowl, Elgersma was part of Canada’s quarterback internship program. He spent parts of two offseasons with the Toronto Argonauts. His position coach was Mike Miller, who was Hall of Famer Kurt Warner’s coach with the Arizona Cardinals. Instantly, Elgersma showed Warner-esque intelligence.

“I just think some of that’s just God-given ability,” Miller said. “There’s just some guys that can see it and process it very quickly, which is obviously required, and then they make the according decision. And then you combine that with their physical skills to be able to execute that assignment, and then you further combine that with a special human being that you have in Taylor, then you’ve got something really special.” 

Game-Changer

When Jordan Love is on, he is a game-changer. While Love ranked only 23rd in the NFL in completion percentage, he was fifth in yards per attempt. So, he’s not necessarily efficient but his hunting of big plays, as he likes to say, meant he led one of the NFL’s more explosive offenses.

The question is whether he can consistently reach the elite level he showed down the stretch in 2023.

During the final eight regular-season games, he had seven games with 100-plus passer ratings. During that span, Love ranked second in passer rating, third in completion percentage and fourth in yards per game. That carried into the wild-card romp at Dallas in which Love posted the highest passer rating ever for a visiting quarterback in a postseason game.

Of course, that version of Love wasn’t seen last season. Injuries were the biggest factor and dropped passes didn’t help. Through two seasons, he has assembled a complicated resume, at least from an outside perspective. While his yards per attempt was better, his completion percentage and interception percentage were worse.

Love said there “might be some things here and there” that were impacted by the injury. He didn’t believe he took a step back in performance, though.

“It’s all about the goals of the team at the end of the day,” he said during OTAs. “I’d say we won more games than we did the year before. That’s why I ask people, what is a step back? Everybody has opinions, things like that. Try to block that out and focus on doing me and being the best player I can be. But, at the end of the day, personal stats, things like that, that’s all in the back. You got to focus on the goals of the team, first and foremost.

Secure in what Love can do physically, LaFleur was more interested in Love growing as a leader.

“I think Jordan’s been more vocal, and we need him to be, quite honestly,” LaFleur said. “He’s got to take that upon himself. I just don’t know many quarterbacks in this league who aren’t the voice of not only the offense but their team. All the great ones do it.”

X-Factor

When general manager Brian Gutekunst acquired Malik Willis from the Titans at the end of training camp, it seemed like a Hail Mary at the position after Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt failed repeatedly to win the No. 2 job.

Willis, a third-round pick in 2022, was terrible in Tennessee. Including three starts and some relief appearances, Willis completed 53.0 percent of his passes with zero touchdowns, three interceptions and a 49.4 passer rating.

Willis resurrected his career and saved Green Bay’s season. He won starts against the Colts and Titans, came out of the bullpen to deliver the critical pass on the winning drive at the Jaguars and should have beaten the Bears in relief in Week 18, as well.

Willis was 40-of-54 passing (74.1 percent) for 550 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. His 124.8 passer rating was the highest for any quarterback who threw 50 passes. He added 20 carries for 138 yards, a 6.9-yard average.

If Love is rolling, it will be hard to take him out of the game. An occasional package of plays for Willis might not be a bad thing, though.

Under the Radar

Because of how last season went, nobody is talking about Sean Clifford. After a strong career at Penn State, he completed 71.9 percent of his passes during his rookie preseason to be the backup to first-year starting quarterback Jordan Love.

Last year, obviously, was a disappointment. However, there are two key factors in earning a spot on the practice squad. One is the ability to develop into a player capable of contributing on the 53-man roster. The second is the ability to contribute in the meeting room and be a reliable player at practice.

As he enters Year 3 in the NFL, Clifford knows Green Bay’s offense, he knows NFL defenses and he has a connection with Love. Those things shouldn’t be discounted.

Roster Projection

Jordan Love and Malik Willis on the 53, Taylor Elgersma on the practice squad.

Noteworthy Number

11: Jordan Love threw 11 interceptions in 579 attempts in 2023. He threw 11 interceptions again in 2024 but in only 425 attempts.

Key to Success

Everything centers on Jordan Love. Josh Jacobs ran wild last season and the defense forced turnovers at a high rate. Ultimately, what did it matter? The Packers weren’t good enough. They fattened up against the soft part of the schedule to sneak into the playoffs but were only a speedbump on the Eagles’ way to winning the Super Bowl.

Why? Because they weren’t good enough at quarterback. With a contract worth $55.0 million per season, the Packers and Love are attached at the hip. They need him to stay healthy and become the quarterback he’s shown he can be. Otherwise, Green Bay might be good enough to win 10 or 11 games and get back to the playoffs, but there is no chance to do the only thing that should matter in Green Bay, and that’s win their fifth Lombardi Trophy.

Love is entering Year 3 as the starter and Year 6 overall. Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers won Super Bowls during those seasons.

“You’re talking about Super Bowl. That’s the goal for us,” Love said. “We talked about that last year, and that’s the same message this year is we’re trying to win a Super Bowl. I’m definitely trying to be that guy to be able to take this team and lead them to that.

“When you talk about Aaron and what he did in his third year, I never try to compare because that’s so hard to do. There’s so many different situations that go on but, at the end of the day, I’ve been here – going on Year 6, going on my third year playing. Everything is right there in front of us and for this team. It’s just about going out there, executing. But the goal is definitely a Super Bowl. That’s the mindset we have and we’re going to put in the work to be able to hopefully get there.”