Packers Sign Award-Winning QB Who Could Push Malik Willis as Backup

The Green Bay Packers officially have a new quarterback on their roster who could push Malik Willis for the backup job during 2025 NFL training camp.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Packers have signed Canadian rookie quarterback Taylor Elgersma to their 90-man offseason roster after he participated in the team’s three-day rookie minicamp last weekend and impressed their coaches.

“Elgersma, who won Canada’s version of the Heisman last year, tried out at Green Bay rookie minicamp over the weekend,” Pelissero wrote Monday. “Now, pen to paper.”

The Packers have had an interest in Elgersma for quite a while. He took an official pre-draft visit to Green Bay after participating in the Senior Bowl earlier in the offseason. According to 3DownNation’s Justin Dunk, the team then invited him for a “follow-up interview” during last weekend’s minicamp with expectations it would end in a signing.

With Elgersma in the fold, the Packers now have four quarterbacks signed to their 90-man roster as they prepare for OTAs later this month. Jordan Love is undisputed as their starter, but the No. 2 quarterback remains unsolidified even though Willis — who held the job in 2024 — is returning to defend the title going into the 2025 season.

The Packers have not yet announced the signing of Elgersma on their team website.

Taylor Elgersma Impressed Matt LaFleur Before Minicamp

Elgersma, a 6-foot-6, 227-pound quarterback, took his game to the next level during his 2024 senior season at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. In 12 games, he completed 73.5% of his passes (275-of-374) for 4,011 yards with 34 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also rushed for another 229 yards and six touchdowns as the starter.

For his efforts, Elgersma won the Hec Crighton Trophy that U Sports awards to the best Canadian university football player each season — a stand-in for the Heisman Trophy.

While Elgersman’s senior season initially attracted the Packers to him, though — as did his performance in the Senior Bowl as the first U Sports quarterback to receive an invite — Packers head coach Matt LaFleur has since explained that Elgersma truly won him and his coaching staff over during his top-30 visit to the Packers’ facility in the spring.

“You’re looking for traits,” LaFleur said about evaluating Elgersma, via Dunk.

“Coming from where he’s coming from to this level, there’s going to be a big learning curve, but if there’s anybody that will attack it head-on, Taylor will. That was so evident when he was here on the [top] 30 visit. I know he’s been working really hard at it. Talking to [passing game coordinator Jason] Vrable, the strides he’s probably made from the Senior Bowl to now have been significant.”

How Soon Will Packers Decide Malik Willis’ Future?

Elgersma could legitimately get a fair shot at winning a role with the Packers during the 2025 season if he can continue to impress them throughout his first NFL training camp.

Willis has more experience (and two good starts on record with the Packers), but he is entering the final season of his rookie contract and may not receive an extension offer. Meanwhile, Sean Clifford — a 2023 fifth-round pick — slumped from serving as Love’s primary backup as a rookie to getting left off the initial 53-man roster in his sophomore outing, putting him in a vulnerable place to lose his No. 3 role.

How the Packers feel about their looming contract with Willis could also influence just where exactly Elgersma lands on the depth chart, if he looks NFL-ready in camp.

The Packers traded for Willis last summer after Clifford and former draft pick Michael Pratt bottomed out in their competition for the primary backup role behind Love. He had not worked out with the Tennessee Titans, but Green Bay liked his skill set and felt him a promising talent — one who saw action after Love’s injury in Week 1.

Coming into 2025, Willis retains his upside and perhaps has an even better perception in the league’s eyes after quality work for the Packers last season. The Packers, however, are likely not in a position to sign him to a new contract in 2026 after making Love the league’s highest-paid quarterback (at the time of his signing) just last offseason.

Logic still dictates that they will want to play out the 2025 season with Willis even if they do not have plans to bring him back next year, but it is not unrealistic to think they could field trade offers for him if both he and Elgersma look viable.