The Green Bay Packers were one of the teams to sign veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins before he signed a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders. While Cousins is off the board, NFL rumors throughout the offseason indicated that head coach Matt LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst are looking for an insurance plan behind Jordan Love for next season.
It's certainly possible that Green Bay could use one of their Day 3 selections on a signal-caller, but it's much more likely that someone with starting experience will be brought in. Given the success LaFleur had in reviving the career of Malik Willis, serving as the Packers' backup quarterback could be attractive to many passers around the league. With that in mind, let's look at our list.
jimmy garoppolo
Shanahan is fond of coach Jimmy Garoppolo coming from the tree. When called into action, he executes the offense and his familiarity with concepts and play designs makes him a great fill-in starter or injury replacement. The Los Angeles Rams would love to bring back Jimmy Garoppolo and he is on the radar of the Arizona Cardinals, who are now coached by Mike LaFleur. With his only option being to serve as the No. 2 on the depth chart, Green Bay could prove worthwhile for the 34-year-old quarterback. Jordan Love has missed two starts due to injury in each of the last two seasons, so playing time will be a very real possibility. However, given that he is an undrafted free agent, Gutekunst may wait until after the 2026 NFL Draft to sign Garoppolo so as not to impact the compensatory selection the team receives next year.
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Will Lewis
Trading a third-day pick for one of the Tennessee Titans' draft busts certainly worked out for the Packers two years ago. Similar to Willis, Titans quarterback Will Lewis never could put it together and the environment he had to work in certainly didn't help him. He is in a contract year, carrying a $3.036 million cap hit in 2026, so he is definitely an affordable backup quarterback. The physical tools are still there, including excellent arm strength and above average athleticism. This would be a riskier No. 2 option behind Love than signing Garoppolo, but there is something even better with Lewis.
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Anthony Richardson
The most interesting option for the Packers is clearly Anthony Richardson. In terms of physical tools, he brings even more to the table than Willis. Of course, he has a career 67.8 passer rating with a 50.6 percent completion rate and an 11-13 TD-INT ratio in 17 career games played. If Love is injured for several weeks and Richardson is forced to become the Packers' starting quarterback, LaFleur will certainly be taking a gamble as the head coach of a playoff contender. There's also no long-term benefit here, as the fully guaranteed fifth-year option on Richardson's contract won't be touched. That said, Richardson's camp should see Green Bay as the best landing spot for his future and that's equally good for the Packers.
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tyrod taylor
If Green Bay doesn't want to sacrifice a draft pick by trading for Will Lewis or Anthony Richardson and the number of suitors for Jimmy Garoppolo pushes his contract value to uncomfortable limits, there's always Tyrod Taylor. He'll turn 37 in August, but he's well-respected in the locker room and has a 13-8 TD-INT line with a 63.4 percent completion rate and an 85.7 passer rating in 19 games over the past three seasons. He could be a useful starter on offense for LaFleur for a week or two, while also providing some advice for Love.
