AUGUST 28: Clifford has cleared waivers and remains in Green Bay’s plans. The Packers are bringing back the former fifth-round pick on a practice squad deal, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo tweets.
AUGUST 27: The Packers will need Malik Willis to digest Matt LaFleur‘s playbook quickly, as he is now the only backup quarterback on their roster. Less than 24 hours after acquiring the former Titans draftee, the Packers moved on from their other two non-Jordan Love options.
Green Bay is cutting both Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero. Unless the Packers circle back to one of the young passers via the practice squad — assuming one clears waivers — they will not have any non-Love QB who went through its offseason program.
LaFleur expressed disappointment in the team’s backup options after a 27-2 loss to the Broncos, a game that featured Denver starters and mostly Green Bay backups. The outing, however, did not get much better after Broncos starters exited. The Packers have since acquired Willis, who has two years left on his rookie contract. Despite the 2022 third-rounder struggling in Tennessee, he appears poised to be Love’s lone active-roster backup.
Chosen in the 2023 fifth round, Clifford spent last season as Love’s backup. The Aaron Rodgers successor stayed healthy, keeping the Penn State product sidelined. Clifford completed just 51% of his passes during preseason play, averaging just 4.8 yards per attempt. The Pack chose Pratt in this year’s seventh round. It would stand to reason the team — for continuity’s sake, if nothing else — would want one of the signal-callers back on the P-squad, so it will be interesting to see how the team proceeds with this position group Wednesday.
This is certainly quite the swing for Willis, who entered the week as a Titans third-stringer after underwhelming in his rookie-year game action. The Titans fired the GM who drafted Willis (Jon Robinson) and hired a new coaching staff. With Will Levis in place as a Tennessee young QB, Willis suddenly did not make much sense on the team’s roster. The Titans found a trade taker, and despite completing 50.8% of his passes at a ghastly 4.5 yards per attempt, the former Liberty standout has a nice opportunity ahead.
Two years remain on Willis’ rookie deal. Clifford is signed through 2026, though that contract will no longer be active if he goes unclaimed Wednesday.
