Heading into their regular season finale on Sunday, the Green Bay Packers decided to make a switch at quarterback. With nothing to play for as they were locked into the No. 7 seed in the NFC, the Packers turned the starting job over to Clayton Tune instead of Malik Willis.
Willis, who saw the start for an injured Jordan Love in Week 17, got banged up in the Packers’ loss last week to the Baltimore Ravens. Leading into Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings, the Packers listed Willis as questionable with right shoulder and hamstring injuries.
However, Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reported that Willis was among the inactive players for Green Bay, which was quite telling, as it forced Jordan Love to be the QB2.
Packers fans hope that Willis will be healthy for Green Bay’s wild card matchup on Saturday vs. the Chicago Bears. But if not, it puts the Packers in a precarious position, especially considering the remaining QB options behind Love right now.
Malik Willis’ Injuries Could Play Role in Packers’ Wildcard Matchup
Green Bay should have a healthy and well-rested Love ready to go for the playoffs, which is good as they’ll need a big game from him to pull the upset over the No. 2 seed Bears. The last time we saw Love was in Week 16 against Chicago.
However, if Love were to get banged up again, and Willis isn’t healthy enough, the Packers may have to enact their doomsday scenario – putting Desmond Ridder or Tune as QB2.
In Sunday’s 16-point loss to the Vikings, the Packers got the full Tune experience, and it wasn’t great. The third-year quarterback completed 6-of-11 passes for 34 yards and was sacked four times. He also added 23 rushing yards, but it didn’t matter as Tune clearly looked overmatched against Brian Flores’ defense.
Based on his lackluster performance, Green Bay fans don’t want to see Tune nowhere near the field in the playoffs, which opens the door for Ridder.
Ridder was signed to their active roster last week with uncertainty around Willis and Love both banged up. Before joining the Pack, Ridder was with the Minnesota Vikings, who released him at the beginning of last month.
Ridder didn’t appear in any games with the Vikings, but does have 25 games of experience under his belt. That said, if you’re Green Bay, you still don’t want to see nor put Ridder in a potential win or go home spot. There's a reason, after all, he was unemployed before being thrown a lifeline by Matt LaFleur.
The Packers' system is also notoriously difficult for some QBs to grasp, which makes it hard to feel comfortable with Ridder or Tune being ready to act if called upon. That makes Willis -- who's looked good to great whenever called upon -- returning to good health even more vital for Green Bay as it looks to pull off a miracle in the postseason.