Packers make drastic quarterback decisions after what they saw against the Vikings in Week 18
Green Bay waived Clayton Tune after a disastrous performance, promoting Desmond Ridder.
Clayton Tune’s first start for the Green Bay Packers was also his last. After what he showed on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, general manager Brian Gutekunst decided to waive him, promoting Desmond Ridder from the practice squad to the active 53-man roster.
Clayton Tune was barely playable against the Vikings, completing only six of 11 passes for 34 yards, with a 60.4 passer rating, and four sacks. The Packers lost 16-3, scoring their only points of the game as the time expired.
Tune was a fifth-round pick by the Arizona Cardinals back in 2023, and was signed by the Packers to the practice squad in August. He ended up playing some snaps against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 17 with Jordan Love and Malik Willis both hurt, and had one interception. He finished the season with a 25.7 passer rating.
Why the Packers signed Desmond Ridder to the active roster
The Packers had the option to keep Ridder on the practice squad, but moving him up to the active roster allows Green Bay to have an emergency third quarterback for gameday during the playoffs — he would be inactive, but could play in the case the two top quarterbacks go down with injuries.
A third-round pick in 2022, Desmond Ridder started 17 games for the Atlanta Falcons and one for the Las Vegas Raiders. He’s also spent time with the Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals, and Minnesota Vikings over the past two years. Ridder signed with the Packers’ practice squad last week.
The good news is that both Jordan Love and Malik Willis are healthy for the playoffs, which means Ridder will only be the third quarterback in case of emergency.
More roster moves
Beyond the quarterback swap, the Packers also made three other additions to the practice squad, signing wide receivers Julian Hicks and Kisean Johnson, plus tight end Messiah Swinson. Hicks spent his rookie season in 2024 on the Packers’ practice squad and was in Green Bay during training camp.
Swinson also spent time in Green Bay in 2024 and in this year’s training camp. More recently, he was with the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals.
Kisean Johnson is a rookie out of Western Kentucky and was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent.
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