Packers have a new quarterback, and it’s a player Brian Gutekunst has been targeting for a long time
Clayton Tune has signed with the Packers’ practice squad.
For the second straight season, the big quarterback battle throughout training camp ends without a winner. Last year, Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt got waived after the Green Bay Packers traded for Malik Willis, and Clifford ended up on the practice squad.
This year, Clifford and Canadian rookie Taylor Elgersma were fighting for the QB3 spot on the practice squad, but neither was the choice. On Wednesday, the Packers signed former Arizona Cardinals backup quarterback Clayton Tune to the practice squad, while Clifford and Elgersma are now free agents available to sign elsewhere. The news was first reported by Walter B.J. Mitchell from the Red Rain Podcast, and confirmed after Tune cleared waivers by Bill Huber from Sports Illustrated.
Who is Clayton Tune?
The Packers’ interest in Tune isn’t new. The quarterback was available in the 2023 draft class, the same year Green Bay took Clifford. Tune had a pre-draft conversation with the Packers, but the Cardinals drafted him 10 spots earlier in the fifth round. At that point, after a run of quarterbacks, Clifford was the last player at the position with a draftable grade. With a need to get a backup behind Jordan Love and without money to spend on a veteran, the Packers took Clifford in the fifth round —much ahead of what the consensus would indicate.
Tune started his rookie season as a third-stringer on the Cardinals, behind Kyler Murray and Josh Dobbs, but became the backup when Murray was injured and Dobbs was traded away. Last year, he was also the primary backup behind Murray, but this offseason, the Cardinals signed Jacoby Brissett to serve as a veteran backup.
Tune had the option to stay on the Cardinals’ practice squad, but the opportunity to develop under coach Matt LaFleur and quarterbacks coach Sean Mannion was more appealing.
“No position is handed to you, so you got to go out and earn it,” Tune said after the Cardinals signed Brissett. “It really doesn’t change my mindset. Like I said every year, you’re going to have to earn the job, so that’s the mindset I came into this offseason with.”
Overall, Tune appeared in 13 games for the Cardinals, completing 60.9% of his passes, with no touchdowns and two interceptions. In this year’s preseason, he completed 30 of 49 attempts for 186 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.
Because Tune’s rookie contract wasn’t claimed and he signed a new practice squad contract with the Packers, he is slated to be an exclusive-rights free agent next offseason. If he spends six or more weeks on the active roster, he would accrue a third season and become a restricted free agent.
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