Matt Johnson
The Green Bay Packers were among the teams in the mix 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 indicate 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 might use one of its Day 3 picks on a signal-caller, but it seems far likelier that someone with starting experience is brought in. Given the success that LaFleur had in resurrecting the career of Malik Willis, serving as the Packers’ backup quarterback could be appealing to several passers around the league. With that in mind, let’s dive into our list.
Jimmy Garoppolo
Coaches who come from the Shanahan tree are fond of Jimmy Garoppolo. When called into action, he executes the offense and his familiarity with the concepts and play designs makes him a great fill-in starter or injury replacement. The Los Angeles Rams would love to bring Jimmy Garoppolo back and he’s been on the radar of the Arizona Cardinals, who are now coached by Mike LaFleur. With his only options 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 would be a very real possibility. However, given he is an outright free agent, Gutekunst may wait until after the 2026 NFL Draft to sign Garoppolo so there is no impact on the compensatory picks the team will receive next year.
Related: Predicting Landing Spots for Best QBs Available
Will Levis
Trading a Day 3 pick to the Tennessee Titans for one of their draft busts certainly worked out for the Packers two years ago. Similar to Willis, Titans quarterback Will Levis could just never put it together and he certainly wasn’t helped out by the environment he had to work in. He’s in a contract year, carrying a $3.036 million cap hit in 2026, so he’s certainly an affordable backup quarterback. The physical tools, including outstanding arm strength and above-average athleticism, are still there. This would be a riskier No. 2 option behind Love than signing Garoppolo, but there’s also a bit more upside with Levis.
Related: Green Bay Packers Eyeign Contract Extensions with 3 Players
Anthony Richardson
The most intriguing option for the Packers is clearly Anthony Richardson. In terms of physical tools, he brings even more to the table than Willis did. Of course, he also 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. LaFleur would certainly be taking a bit of a gamble as the head coach of a playoff contender if Love went down with a multi-week injury and Richardson was forced to become the Packers’ starting quarterback. There also isn’t any long-term upside here, as the fully guaranteed fifth-year option on Richardson’s contract won’t be touched. With that said, Richardson’s camp should see Green Bay as the best landing spot for his future and the upside is just as high for the Packers.
Related: Green Bay Packers Expected to Trade for Former Top Pick
Tyrod Taylor
If Green Bay doesn’t want to sacrifice a draft pick by trading for Will Levis or Anthony Richardson and the number of suitors for Jimmy Garoppolo pushes his contract price to an uncomfortable range, there’s always Tyrod Taylor. He will be 37 years old in August, but he’s well-regarded in the locker room and he does have a 13-8 TD-INT line with a 63.4 percent completion rate and an 85.7 passer rating in 19 games over the last three seasons. He could be a serviceable starter in a run-heavy offense for LaFleur for a week or two, plus he could provide a bit of mentorship for Love.
