Packers To Waive QBs Sean Clifford, Michael Pratt
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.
Packers Announce 53-Man Roster
The Packers featured the youngest roster in the NFL last season, and they’re set to return most of that young core in 2024. Still, the team had to move on from a long list of inexperienced players as they pared their roster down to 53 players. The organization announced the following roster moves today:
Released:
Waived:
- DL Deslin Alexandre
- DL Brevin Allen
- DL Keshawn Banks
- K Anders Carlson (story)
- QB Sean Clifford (story)
- WR Grant DuBose
- DL James Ester
- CB Gemon Green
- K Alex Hale
- WR Julian Hicks
- OL Donovan Jennings
- S Anthony Johnson Jr.
- OT Caleb Jones
- CB Kalen King
- RB Nate McCrary
- RB Ellis Merriweather
- DL Zach Morton
- OL Royce Newman (story)
- TE Henry Pearson
- QB Michael Pratt (story)
- CB Robert Rochell
- LB Chris Russell
- S Benny Sapp III
- DL Keonte Schad
- OL Lecitus Smith
- WR Dimitri Stanley
- TE Messiah Swinson
- OT Luke Tenuta
- WR Samori Toure
- DL Spencer Waege
- WR Jalen Wayne
- TE Joel Wilson
- LB Christian Young
Waived/injured:
- CB LJ Davis
- LB Ralen Goforth
Placed on IR:
- TE Tyler Davis
- RB AJ Dillon (story)
- DL Jonathan Ford (designated for return)
Linebacker Kristian Welch brings the most experience of the bunch, with the former UDFA appearing in 57 career games in time with the Ravens and Packers. He spent the 2023 campaign in Green Bay, where he played all 210 of his snaps on special teams. Considering his limited experience on defense, there’s a chance the Packers are tinkering with their roster and intend to bring the veteran back via the practice squad.
Titans To Trade QB Malik Willis To Packers
Malik Willis‘ Titans tenure will end after his third preseason with the team. Tennessee’s new regime will move on from the former Jon Robinson-era draftee.
The Titans are trading Willis to the Packers, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reports. Tennessee will pick up a 2025 seventh-rounder from Green Bay. Two years remain on the former third-rounder’s rookie contract. Willis heads to a Packers team with some uncertainty behind Jordan Love.
Rumored as a potential first-round pick, Willis endured one of the more memorable draft-weekend slides in recent NFL history. As part of a maligned 2022 quarterback class, the Liberty product slid to No. 86. Willis’ performances with the Titans did well to justify the league’s hesitancy, even as high-profile draft gurus viewed him as a player who was bound for a first- or second-round draft destination. The Packers will take what amounts to a flier, given the trade compensation.
Willis competed with free agency addition Mason Rudolph for the Titans’ backup job this summer. Rudolph, who joined the team on a one-year deal worth $2.87MM, was believed to be in the lead. This will leave the Titans with a question regarding their third-string QB, as only Rudolph and Will Levis are now on the roster. But this cuts the cord on Robinson’s QB options — during an offseason in which Ran Carthon has made sweeping changes on offense.
With Levis also developing, Willis did not make too much sense on Tennessee’s roster any longer. Rudolph is in place as a veteran backup, and after Brian Callahan said the team would let the process play out through the preseason, the Titans figure to be in the QB3 market once the waiver wire presents options.
The Titans’ offense ground to a halt when Willis replaced Ryan Tannehill in 2022. The then-rookie completed just 50.8% of his passes, as Mike Vrabel turned to run-heavy game scripts when the former Auburn recruit was taking snaps. Willis went 1-2 as a Tannehill relief option that year and finished with 10- and 16-pass starts. After a 14-for-23 outing in a loss to the then-lowly Texans, Vrabel demoted him for Josh Dobbs, whom the Titans signed off the Lions’ practice squad late that season. Willis threw just five more regular-season passes as a Titan.
Willis, 25, came to Tennessee after two dominant seasons at Liberty. He finished with a 47-18 TD-INT ratio from 2020-21 at the mid-major program, after not beating out Jarrett Stidham at Auburn. Willis also posted 944- and 878-yard rushing seasons with his second program, totaling 27 rushing TDs. He will attempt to restart his development under Matt LaFleur.
LaFleur has not seen strong returns from Love backups Sean Clifford and seventh-round rookie Michael Pratt. Both struggled against the Broncos during the preseason’s second week, with LaFleur expressing disappointment (via The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman) about that effort in a 27-2 loss. Willis will likely back up Love, Schefter adds, though it would stand to be challenging for that setup to commence immediately due to Clifford’s knowledge of LaFleur’s system. But the incumbent is undoubtedly on notice. The Packers used a 2023 fifth-round pick on Clifford and are now guaranteed to cut either he or Pratt — and that is only if the team keeps three passers.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/4/23
After the Panthers got the ball rolling yesterday, a number of teams started signing draft picks to their rookie contracts today. We’ve compiled all of the four-year, later-round signings below:
Baltimore Ravens
- CB Kyu Blu Kelly (fifth round, Stanford)
- OT Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu (sixth round, Oregon)
- G Andrew Vorhees (seventh round, USC)
Chicago Bears
- LB Noah Sewell (fifth round, Oregon)
- CB Terell Smith (fifth round, Minnesota)
- DT Travis Bell (seventh round, Kennesaw State)
- S Kendall Williamson (seventh round, Stanford)
Green Bay Packers
- QB Sean Clifford (fifth round, Penn State)
- WR Grant DuBose (seventh round, Charlotte)
Indianapolis Colts
- TE Will Mallory (fifth round, Miami)
- RB Evan Hull (fifth round, Northwestern)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- WR Parker Washington (sixth round, Penn State)
New England Patriots
- WR Kayshon Boutte (sixth round, LSU)
New York Jets
- DB Jarrick Bernard-Converse (sixth round, LSU)
Philadelphia Eagles
- QB Tanner McKee (sixth round, Stanford)
- DT Moro Ojomo (seventh round, Texas)
San Francisco 49ers
- DE Robert Beal Jr. (fifth round, Georgia)
Seattle Seahawks
- RB Kenny McIntosh (seventh round, Georgia)
Packers Take QB Sean Clifford At No. 149
The Packers seem committed to rolling with Jordan Love in a post-Aaron Rodgers offense. However, that hasn’t stopped the organization from selecting a quarterback in the draft. The Packers have picked Penn State signal caller Sean Clifford at No. 149.
Clifford once beat out second-round QB Will Levis for the Nittany Lions’ starting gig. While his former teammate ended up showing more promise for the NFL, Clifford still managed to hear his name called during this weekend’s draft. As ESPN’s Adam Schefter points out (on Twitter), Clifford is the 11th QB drafted this year, tying the Common Draft Era record set in 1995 for most quarterbacks selected in the first five rounds.
Clifford ended up spending four seasons as Penn State’s starter. That stint included a 2022 campaign where he completed 64.4 percent of his passes for 2,822 yards, 24 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. As NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweets, many teams viewed Clifford as a priority undrafted free agent, but the Packers were apparently motivated to add him now.
Love will be positioned atop Green Bay’s depth chart in 2023, but the rookie could make a run for the QB2 spot. The only other Packers quarterback on the roster besides Love and Clifford is Danny Etling.