Packers Coach Matt LaFleur’s New No. 3 QB Was on Brother’s Roster

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said it was his job to find a new developmental quarterback after trading Kyle McCord.

That job belongs to Kedon Slovis.

The Packers signed Slovis to their practice squad in time for Tuesday’s practice.

With the Arizona Cardinals, Slovis completed 63.9 percent of his passes for 434 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in the preseason. He played most of the preseason finale, going 21-of-35 (60.0 percent) for 223 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

“I didn't see a ton of live exposure outside of the game when they were doing quarterback drills and throwing into the net,” coach Matt LaFleur said before Tuesday’s practice. “I think he won the net drill that day, as a matter of fact, but just watching him over the course of the preseason, I think he’s a natural thrower. He’s really talented. This guy was a big-time recruit coming out of high school, so we'll get him in here and see how he does.

The Cardinals are coached by LaFleur’s brother, Mike, which should help the transition.

“I think that helped a little bit, for sure,” Matt LaFleur said. “I think there's some similarities, some carryover in terms of how we train the guys. I know with (Nathaniel) Hackett and Matt Schaub there, two guys that I've been around in the past, so we'll just see how he does when he gets in here.”

Kedon Slovis’ College Resume

Slovis played at USC from 2019 through 2021, at Pittsburgh in 2022 and finished his career at BYU in 2023. With extensive playing time in all five seasons, he threw for 11,689 yards and 80 touchdowns with 39 interceptions. Even with a 4.55 time in the 40, he was not much of a running threat. With sacks taken out of the equation, he rushed for 242 yards with a 2.3-yard average.

“What I love about Kedon is that he’s a winner, and winners find ways to win,” USC coach Todd Helton said in 2020. “He’s done that each and every week. The stat sheet won’t be as pretty as the last couple weeks, percentage-wise, but at the end of the day, winners win, and that’s what he is. … The one thing Kedon does is he finds the way to put the team on his back and win ballgames.”

Despite the experience, Slovis went undrafted in 2024 and signed with the Colts, but was released at the end of training camp and spent the season on Houston’s practice squad. In 2025, Slovis was released at the end of training camp by the Texans and signed to Arizona’s practice squad. That’s where he spent the entire season; he played in one game and completed one pass for minus-2 yards.

“He has good size and throws with decent timing but doesn’t have enough arm strength to make pro throws into tight windows on a consistent basis,” NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein wrote in his draft scouting report. “He struggles with deep-ball accuracy and occasionally puts throws up for grabs when he’s under pressure. Slovis will likely face an uphill battle to make a team.”

The Athletic’s Dane Brugler ranked him 14th among quarterbacks.

“Slovis has functional skills to be a productive passer when everything around him is going right, but he didn’t put enough on tape to suggest he can elevate an offense when things fall apart around him,” Brugler wrote. “He is a practice-squad candidate who will have a chance to grow into a backup role in the NFL.”

Trading Kyle McCord Was Tough Decision

Signing Slovis was made a necessity after Gutekunst opted to trade Kyle McCord to the Dolphins for a 2026 sixth-round pick. Gutekunst was hoping he could sneak McCord onto the practice squad, but that phone call from his former right-hand man, Jon-Eric Sullivan, obviously changed his thinking.

“He played so well during the preseason,” Gutekunst said. “We were obviously contemplating do we keep three? Do we try to get him to the practice squad? What’s the likelihood of that? When somebody calls you up and talking about a trade, I think the likelihood of you getting him to the practice squad’s probably not strong.”

The problem for the Packers is it’s back to the drawing board at quarterback. Backup Tyrod Taylor will be a competent backup behind Jordan Love this season, but he’s 37 years old and on a one-year contract. He might be nothing more than a one-year stopgap.

So, this year’s No. 3 will be the early front-runner to be next year’s No. 2. McCord showed that potential during training camp and the preseason, especially by leading a big fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Cardinals.

But, rather than keeping him as the No. 3 quarterback on the roster, which would have come at the expense of a seventh defensive tackle or 10th offensive lineman, Gutekunst decided to trade him.

“Whenever you trade a player that you like and you think has an upside, that’s tough to do,” Gutekunst said. “But he wasn’t going to be the No. 2 here this year, more than likely. And heading into next year, who knows? So, it’s our job to find the next guy and develop the next guy. That’s kind of what we do, and that’s what we’ll do as we go forward.”

Now, it’s Slovis’ time. He’s made the quick transition before, including when he joined the Cardinals at this time last year.

“You’re in a new place, new offense, you know, so you don't really have the reps they give you in OTAs and training camp. That's the main thing,” Slovis said at the time. “Obviously, you want to show your best foot forward and do that, but your main focus is learning the offensive then giving the defensive the best look because those guys are playing on Sundays.”

The Packers are his fourth team in his quest to make a lasting career.

“You got to want it yourself, though, and I think that's the biggest thing,” he said. “There's a lot of lonely moments where you got to ask yourself, ‘Do I want to do this? What do I want?’” Slovis said. “There's a lot of people in your ear, a lot of people telling you what to do. But, at the end of the day, you got to do what's best for you and you got to live with it.”

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