Packers Make QB Move Before Facing Eagles in Wild-Card Game

The Green Bay Packers are making a change at the quarterback position ahead of their wild-card game with the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2024 NFL playoffs.

According to the team’s transaction wire for January 11, the Packers signed third-string quarterback Sean Clifford from the practice squad to their 53-man roster on Saturday, a move that will allow him to dress as their emergency No. 3 quarterback in Philadelphia.

The Packers had multiple quarterback injuries to evaluate at the start of wild-card week with starter Jordan Love (right elbow) and backup Malik Willis (right thumb) dealing with their respective injuries in the aftermath of Week 18’s defeat to the Chicago Bears. After limiting both of them in Wednesday’s first practice, though, the Packers removed both Love and Willis from the injury report following Friday’s final preparatory session.

Nevertheless, Clifford — a 2023 fourth-round pick — will now have a chance to possibly suit up for his second career NFL playoff game; though, it would take a serious stretch of bad luck for the Packers to need to call upon Clifford in the game against the Eagles.

Clifford did play three offensive snaps in the Packers’ wild-card victory over the Dallas Cowboys during the 2023 NFL playoffs, but he only in garbage time of the 48-32 rout. Otherwise, he has only played two regular-season games in his NFL career, completing his only passing attempt for 37 yards and rushing three times for a loss of 2 yards.

The Packers (No. 7 seed) will face the Eagles (No. 2 seed) in Philadelphia at 4:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, January 12, for their wild-card matchup in the 2024 NFL playoffs.

Sean Clifford Signing Takes Advantage of NFL QB Rule

The Packers are not taking any chances with their quarterback depth for their wild-card game against the Eagles on Sunday, but Clifford’s promotion to the active roster is not a sign that the team is necessarily worried about Love’s elbow or Willis’ thumb. Rather, they are simply taking advantage of a relatively new NFL rule about third quarterbacks.

According to the NFL rule instated in 2023, teams are permitted to dress a 49th player as its emergency third quarterback in either regular-season or playoff games so long as that player is signed to the 53-man roster. The catch is that emergency quarterbacks can only come into the game if the two active quarterbacks are unable to play either due to injury or disqualifications — a critical qualifier that makes Clifford’s playing unlikely.

Still, the Clifford move is a sensible one for the Packers. While they removed both Love and Willis from the injury report, there is always a chance that they could re-aggravate their injuries during the game and leave the team scrambling for a healthy quarterback. With the NFL’s rule on emergency quarterbacks offering them a free contingency plan, the Packers had little reason not to take it entering the do-or-die portion of the season.

Will Jordan Love Shine Again in NFC Wild-Card Game?

Love has received the medical green light to start in his third career NFL playoff game when the Packers meet the Eagles in the NFC wild-card round on Sunday. The question now is will Love have another dazzling performance like he did in the 2023 wild card?

Love had arguably the best game of his young career against the Cowboys in the wild-card round of the 2023 NFL playoffs, completing 16 of his 21 passes for 272 yards and three touchdowns and leading the Packers to a dominant 48-32 victory on the road. He will also face eerily similar circumstances in Sunday’s game against the Eagles, walking into a raucous NFC East road environment as the No. 7 seed looking to topple the No. 2.

Love, however, is not entering the playoffs on the same hot streak this year. In the final four games of the 2023 season, Love completed 73.4% of his passes for 1,075 yards and nine touchdowns and capped the year with a 316-yard performance against the Bears. Meanwhile, Love averaged just 186.9 passing yards and 1.3 passing touchdowns in his final seven games of the 2024 season, including his injury-shortened Week 18 game.

In fairness to Love, the Packers won four of those seven games to secure their place in the 2024 postseason and have leaned more heavily on Pro Bowl running back Josh Jacobs and his legs than Love’s arm in certain situations. Still, the team will need him at his best if it wants to reach the NFC divisional round for a second consecutive year.