Earlier today, the Green Bay Packers traded a 2025 seventh-round pick in exchange for former Tennessee Titans quarterback Malik Willis. In his report on the trade, Sports IllustratedAccording to sources, it is expected that Sean Clifford will be released before the deadline tomorrow.

Clifford is entering his second year in the NFL and was set to be the team’s primary backup in 2023. Fortunately, he didn’t get to play much for the Packers, throwing just one pass in his rookie regular season. Clifford was selected in the fifth round of the 2023 draft after a significant quarterback run, despite the fact that many predicted him to be an undrafted free agent. If you recall, Green Bay didn’t have much cap space at the time, even to sign undrafted free agents for signing bonuses, so landing a backup quarterback via the draft was almost non-negotiable for the team.

This spring, the Packers drafted seventh-round pick Michael Pratt to test Clifford. Clifford held down the second-team job throughout camp, but Pratt did steal some chances to play with the second-team unit in two-minute drills. In the final preseason game, Pratt and Clifford each alternated two drives or so.

According to Huber, “Pratt’s fate is less certain.” There are some advantages to keeping three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, as the NFLPA just voted on the league’s proposal to allow third-string quarterbacks from the practice squad to enter the game in an emergency. With that opportunity, an emergency quarterback would have to come off the 53-man roster, whether he’s active for game day or not.

Huber also suggested that the team will “likely” re-sign either Clifford or Pratt to the practice squad, if starter Jordan Love and Willis are the only quarterbacks remaining on the active roster. Is Clifford’s experience in the system, with Willis new to the system, more valuable than Pratt’s long-term upside? That’s the question the Packers will have to ask themselves when deciding who to sign to the practice squad.