The position of backup quarterback matters to every team in the NFL, but it is arguably most crucial to legitimate contenders such as the Green Bay Packers.
If Jordan Love has a duplicate season following his breakout 2023 campaign, and there is little reason to believe he won’t, he will cement himself as the present and the future of the organization under center. But playoff seeding, home-field advantage and even a trip to the postseason at all for Green Bay could end up reliant on what the Packers are able to do if/when Love misses time due to injury.
The team likes second-year QB Sean Clifford, but he has minimal experience in games that actually matter. Eventually Green Bay will need to get him on the field to see if he makes sense as the backup long-term, but that initiative shouldn’t trump Super Bowl aspirations like those the Packers have for the upcoming season.
As such, the most logical answer in Green Bay is a veteran signal-caller, not yet washed, with playoff experience and success on his resumé. For a guy like 35-year-old Ryan Tannehill (soon to be 36), the Packers make a good bit of sense.
Ryan Tannehill Was About Average Among All Starting NFL QBs in 2023
Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report floated Tannehill as the backup option behind Love in a free agent piece on Wednesday, May 22.
It’s worth noting that when [Nick Shook of NFL.com] put together his ranking for all 66 [starting] quarterbacks [in 2023], former Tennessee Titans passer Ryan Tannehill was ranked 34th. The veteran started eight games before injuries and poor play opened the door for Will Levis to take over. Tannehill threw just four touchdowns to seven interceptions and went 3-5 as the starter.
His days of starting are likely over, but there should have been more interest in a backup quarterback with a 39-24 record over the last five seasons. The Packers, for instance, would be better off going to Tannehill in the event of a Jordan Love injury than hoping for the best with Sean Clifford (one career pass attempt) or rookie Michael Pratt.
Packers Can Secure QB Insurance by Paying Ryan Tannehill Modest One-Year Salary
The two most important factors around signing Tannehill are whether he is willing to accept a backup role rather than holding out into the season for a chance at a starting job when injuries begin to enter the equation, and how much it will cost a team like Green Bay to bring him in.
Tannehill just played the final season of a four-year contract worth $118 million in Tennessee. Spotrac projects his market value at $7.7 million over a new one-year deal.
As of Wednesday, Green Bay has just north of $21 million in salary cap space for 2024. Spending one-third of that on an insurance policy the team may never use is a costly proposition.
However, if doing so makes the difference between a playoff berth or watching the postseason at home — or even if it makes the difference between two home games in January instead of one — the investment will have been well made.
