Packers QB room has a new tone heading into 2025, with leadership emerging and goals clearly laid out for the year ahead
For the first time in the 2020s, the Green Bay Packers entered an offseason without any type of drama at the quarterback position. Everything is clear, there's no contract dispute, and the prospects for the season are positive. But that doesn't mean things didn't change.After three years, veteran quarterbacks coach Tom Clements left the coaching […]
For the first time in the 2020s, the Green Bay Packers entered an offseason without any type of drama at the quarterback position. Everything is clear, there's no contract dispute, and the prospects for the season are positive. But that doesn't mean things didn't change.
After three years, veteran quarterbacks coach Tom Clements left the coaching staff and retired. The choice to replace him was obvious, promoting offensive assistant and former NFL quarterback Sean Mannion. With him, there are clear priorities for the room: Jordan Love wants to take the next step to establish himself as a top-tier QB, Malik Willis wants to position himself to reach free agency and fight for a starting job next year, while Sean Clifford and Taylor Elgersma will compete, most likely, for a practice squad spot as QB3.
Mannion played most of his career for the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks. But he was drafted by the St. Louis Rams back in 2015, moved with the team to Los Angeles, and had the experience to work with Matt LaFleur as his offensive coordinator for a year. That connection led to his choice to start the coaching career with the Packers.
"I think the big thing was just our vision of the quarterback position was in perfect alignment because like I said when Matt got there with coach McVay in '17, that was a really transformative experience for me in terms of learning how to play the position," Mannion said this offseason. "I know as a player, it helped me greatly and again, having this in mind, it was always like, 'Oh this is how you teach the quarterback position.' I got to learn that from Matt directly."
The QB room
Because Mannion actually had a long NFL career, he brings a different perspective for the players on the roster now. And this will be a different training camp. Usually, LaFleur prefers to work with only three quarterbacks, but there are four now.
Part of this approach is because Love is a veteran now. He doesn't need to be overloaded with practice reps, and his role within the offense is broader.
"He's played a lot of ball and along with that, has gained a lot of confidence," head coach Matt LaFleur said about Love. "He's certainly comfortable in helping lead others and tell them what to do. He's a coach on the field. He knows this offense as well as anybody in regards to the details and what we're trying to get accomplished, and I think that he articulates that well to the other players."
If last year's performance was affected by multiple injuries, Jordan Love has an opportunity in 2025 to show what he truly is.
Meanwhile, Malik Willis is fully a Packers now. A year ago, he was handling complicated circumstances with the Tennessee Titans. Will Levis was the starter, and Willis was basically competing for the backup job with Mason Rudolph. He lost that battle and got traded for a seventh-round pick. That ended up being an inspired move by general manager Brian Gutekunst. Willis was everything you could expect from a solid backup when needed last season. Now, it's his first training camp with LaFleur, and also the final year of his rookie deal.
Depending on how much he needs to play and how he does if called upon again, his market in 2026 may look completely different.
The battle
If Love and Willis are the obvious options on the 53-man roster, the only questions are who the QB3 will be and if he will be on the active roster or on the practice squad.
Sean Clifford was a fifth-round pick in 2023 and spent his rookie season as an immediate backup. However, he got cut after an infamous battle with Michael Pratt a year ago and returned to the practice squad.
The competition is Taylor Elgersma, a Canadian quarterback who actually played college football in Canada. Matt LaFleur highlighted his "live arm," and the raw talent is undeniable.
With clear goals in mind for every quarterback in the room, Sean Mannion enters his first year as a quarterbacks coach with a real shot to build one of the top QB groups in the NFL.
Jordan Love’s development enters a key phase with Sean Mannion bringing both continuity and fresh ideas to Packers QB room
Love enters his sixth NFL season, the third as a starter for the Packers
