Who will be the Packers’ third quarterback?

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - AUGUST 29: Miller Moss #16 of the Chicago Bears looks to pass during the second half of a pre-season game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on August 29, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images) | Getty Images The Green Bay Packers don’t h

Football Zone

SEE ALL

Trendline

Former Panthers LB Thomas Davis Reveals Opioid Addiction, Linking to Broader Drug Case

Reuters

Seahawks release Trevon Diggs; CB may be practice squad bound

Commanders Wire

5 takeaways from Commanders' initial 53-man roster: Offensive line concerns remain

What is the story about?

The Green Bay Packers don’t have a third quarterback, and that’s weird. Half of the NFL kept three players at the position (four of them kept four, if you can believe it) at the cutdown deadline, when rosters shrank from 91 to 53 on Sunday. So for the Packers to have only rostered two players at the position and have no internal option to even add to the practice squad sticks out like a sore thumb, but that’s the offset when the Miami Dolphins are willing to give you a draft pick for a guy you signed

off the street in January.

I’m sure a lot of you are thinking, “Wait, who am I going to see under center if Jordan Love or Tyrod Taylor ever go down, God forbid?” I don’t know the answer to that, but I’m going to throw a couple of options out for you today.

Bring back Kyron Drones

This is probably the least inspired of our options. The Packers signed Kyron Drones to a deal worth $5,000 guaranteed as an undrafted free agent this offseason, and he was beat out for the QB3 job (at least in the summer) by Kyle McCord (who, again, is now a Dolphin). Drones was outright waived by the team — with the Packers not even needing to fill his roster spot for several days — after a four-dropback performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the preseason opener. Drones was sacked on three of those plays, including a screen. It seemed like they were just over the experience.

Sign a player who was just cut

Alright, here’s where I did a lot of legwork. We’re going to have to use different fonts to mean different things, because I want you to be able to take one glance and understand the full landscape at the position.

Players whose names are bolded were cut from teams that kept three or more quarterbacks. These are the players who are most likely to be available for the Packers, as these teams are less likely to need a practice squad arm for the scout team.
Players who are italicized come from teams that have only two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, but there were multiple quarterbacks cut on Sunday. These teams will likely try to re-sign one of them on the practice squad, but not both quarterbacks.
Players who are not bolded or italicized come from teams that only kept two quarterbacks on the roster but only released one on Sunday, meaning they’re more likely to be retained by their original team’s practice squad as a camp arm. Given the option, quarterbacks in the #3 spot in the pecking order tend to return to their original club on the practice squad.

Below is a full list of all of the quarterbacks cut league-wide (without an injury designation) on Sunday.

ARZ: Kedon Slovis
BAL: Austin Reed
BUF Shane Buechele
CAR: Kyle Trask
CHI: Miller Moss
CIN: Sean Clifford
DET: Luke Altmyer
HOU: Brett Rypien
IND: Easton Stick
JAX: Nick Mullens and Joey Aguilar
LV: Jacob Clark
LAC: DJ Uiagalelei
MIA: Mark Gronowski and Cam Miller
NO: Hunter Dekkers
NYG: Brandon Allen and Jake Haener
NYJ: Bailey Zappe and Brady Cook
SF: Adrian Martinez
TB: Jake Browning and Connor Bazelak
TEN: Will Levis and Hendon Hooker
WAS: Sam Hartman

This draft cycle, I reported that scouting sources told me the Packers were interested in Kyron Drones, Haynes King and Mark Gronowski as potential pickups. Drones had his stint in Green Bay, while Gronowski ended up in Miami (where he took a pre-draft visit) and King actually made Carolina’s 53-man roster as a UDFA (good for him). For perspective, King signed for $210,000 guaranteed compared to Drones’ $5,000. Ultimately, King was just in a different market than Drones when they were both free agents post-draft.

So Gronowski is a good start for a watch list, but Miami might retain him. If they do, though, that will likely free up Cam Miller, who was a sixth-round pick in the 2026 draft. Maybe he’s an option, too.

Along with King, Jalon Daniels and Jack Strand were UDFA quarterbacks who received large guarantees this offseason and ended up making their team’s initial 53-man roster. A couple who were just cut, though, are Luke Altmyer, Joey Aguilar and Miller Moss. Altmyer, who the Packers had a pre-draft virtual meeting with, will likely be kept by the Detroit Lions, as they only have two quarterbacks on their roster. Aguilar could be available, as the Jacksonville Jaguars have two quarterbacks and released two today. Moss will almost certainly be available, as the Chicago Bears kept three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster.

I’m not sure that Will Levis will pass through waivers unclaimed, but if he does, I think his addition would make a lot of sense for the Packers. It seems like both he and the Titans just want to move on, and that he won’t be brought back to Tennessee. If for whatever reason he does return to the Titans, though, that means that they (probably) won’t be bringing back Hendon Hooker, who was a pre-draft visitor with Green Bay before his selection at 68th overall in 2023 by the Detroit Lions. He’s another option that makes some sense.

I have no idea how Kedon Slovis (outside of his game against the Packers on Friday) or Adrian Martinez played this preseason, but both of them played in “LaFleur-like” offensive systems, so maybe there would be less friction for them to hit the ground running than a typical outside signing to the practice squad. Those are just a couple of names that I think are realistic right now.

A street signing

The Packers worked out quarterback Seth Henigan, a UDFA from the class of 2025, this offseason. Green Bay didn’t do a lot of workouts since the start of camp, but they brought him in once, so that’s one possibility.

Some veterans are out there, like Jimmy Garoppolo, but it seems highly unlikely that they’d be interested in a practice squad opportunity. I just wouldn’t hold my breath on experience at QB3 this year. Tyrod Taylor has taken care of us in that department.

—

There’s probably no great answer to QB3 right now, but which of these options do you like better? Let us know in the comments section. My opinion: I think they just grab a scout team arm for now, but if there’s ever a serious injury, I bet they go the veteran route and start looking at Garoppolo and co. on the 53-man roster.