Packers miss out on Kirk Cousins sweepstakes as backup quarterback situation gets murkier with few options left
Cousins signed with the Las Vegas Raiders, so now Green Bay has limited options to create competition behind Jordan Love. The roster currently has Desmond Ridder and Kyle McCord.
The Green Bay Packers wanted to sign Kirk Cousins, and they publicly admitted their intentions this week. Now that Cousins has opted to have a shot at starting for the Las Vegas Raiders, the options to get a more experienced backup to Jordan Love are even more limited.
“Yeah, we’ve discussed a lot of those options,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said at the Annual League Meeting when asked about Cousins. “That’s a guy who’s got a lot of pelts on the wall in this league. So we’ve certainly discussed all those kinds of things, and we’ll see where it goes.”
The Raiders will presumably draft Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick in the upcoming draft, but adding a veteran who could start at least early in the season was a priority for Las Vegas.
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What the Packers have left
The first option for the Packers is to keep what they have now — Desmond Ridder was a viable start for the Atlanta Falcons and he’s 26, so it’s not like he can’t play if needed. Kyle McCord was a sixth-rounder by the Philadelphia Eagles last year, and he’s more on the developmental side of the spectrum.
Presuming that Aaron Rodgers would never ger back to Green Bay to be a backup, the best backup option at the moment is probably Jimmy Garoppolo, 34, who played five and a half seasons for Kyle Shanahan and backed up Matthew Stafford in the past two with Sean McVay for the Los Angeles Rams. The scheme familiarity is the big factor here, even though the ceiling and athletic ability are limited at this point.
Outside of Garoppolo, there aren’t many options who would be an upgrade over Ridder. Russell Wilson proved under Nathaniel Hackett that he’s not a good fit in this system, and he’s already 37. Tyrod Taylor could be an option, but he’s also limited and 36.
If Garoppolo returns to the Rams or signs elsewhere, the draft could be the best alternative for the Packers to get more competition in the QB room. But at this point, it’s becoming increasingly likely that Ridder has a real shot at being the Packers’ QB2 in 2026.
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