Where Do Etling, Clifford Rank Among NFL Backup Quarterbacks?

Almost 70 quarterbacks started at least one game last season, making the Packers' backup battle between Danny Etling and Sean Clifford a big one.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Jul 7, 2023 11:01 AM EDT

In this story:

Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – All eyes will be on new Green Bay Packers starting quarterback Jordan Love when training camp opens with the first practice on July 26. Who will be Love’s backup? All eyes also should be on that battle between Danny Etling and Sean Clifford.

Pro Football Network’s Dalton Miller ranked 32 backup quarterbacks. Where did Etling/Clifford rank?

They didn’t.

The Washington Commanders’ Jacoby Brissett is the top-ranked backup; the Carolina Panthers’ Matt Corral is the 32nd-ranked backup. Carson Wentz and Teddy Bridgewater made the list as free agents. The San Francisco 49ers got two players in the Top 10 with Sam Darnold and Trey Lance.

Etling and Clifford were nowhere to be found.

At age 28, Etling is one of the 10 oldest players on the Packers’ roster. A seventh-round pick by New England in 2018, he hasn’t played in a regular-season game in his five seasons in the NFL.

Clifford was a fifth-round pick after a record-setting career at Penn State. At 24, he’s the same age as Love.

Having joined the team in December 2021 and, thus, having a strong foundation in the offense, Etling took the No. 2 reps throughout the offseason practices. He had a strong preseason last year, going 17-of-22 passing for 220 yards along with a 51-yard touchdown run.

As Clifford grows more and more comfortable in the system, will he be able to knock off Etling? Will Etling’s experience and athleticism carry him to the No. 2 role? Or will the Packers have to go fishing for a veteran like Wentz – a “beautiful disaster” in the words of Miller?

However it shakes out, the No. 2 quarterback is a key position. Last season, only eight quarterbacks started all 17 games. Not every quarterback is as durable as Aaron Rodgers. Over his final five seasons in Green Bay, he missed just one game – COVID in 2020.

A whopping 69 quarterbacks started at least one game last season. Nine started exactly one game, 12 started two games, five started three games, four started four games and four started five games.

Whether it’s a single game or the full season, the Packers don’t have much margin for error. A quarterback capable of finishing out a game or leading the team for a stretch of games could be the deciding factor on whether or not it returns to the playoffs in 2023.