The Green Bay Packers will likely lose one of their unsung key players next month. Malik Willis will be one of the most coveted quarterbacks in free agency, and as much as the Packers would love to keep him, there's just no way they can afford to do so.
Green Bay will continue to roll with Jordan Love for as long as he's healthy. That said, having an above-average backup quarterback can make or break a team's season, as they learned when they had to lean on Willis last season.
Considering that, the Packers could look to replicate the same formula to find his replacement. According to ESPN insider Ben Solak, the New Orleans Saints have a 70% chance to trade Spencer Rattler, and, given his team-friendly deal, he'd be a nice pickup and project for head coach Matt LaFleur.
"The Saints don't want to trade a young quarterback on a rookie contract who improved as a sophomore, but teams need developmental passers, and Rattler is the best candidate this spring," Solak wrote.
Spencer Rattler Should Be on Packers' Offseason Radar
Once considered an elite prospect, Rattler didn't live up to the hype in college. That said, he showed glimpses of strong play for a struggling Saints team that lost 12 of his 13 starts. He can still have some value as a developmental player, and he has two years remaining on his contract at a total of $2.27 million, none of which is guaranteed.
The Packers got Willis, another promising quarterback with no clear path to start, for a 2025 seventh-round pick, and they will now probably get a 2027 third-round pick if he leaves in free agency. Doing the same with Rattler, who has a strong arm and can make plays with his legs, would put them in a similar position.
We've seen how much being in the right environment and playing for the right people can turn a struggling quarterback into a legitimate starting-caliber player. Rattler would love to have an opportunity to sit behind Love and develop, just like Willis did for two years.
Since joining the Packers, Willis has gone 2-1 in three starts, all while completing 78.7% of passes for 972 interception-less yards, six touchdowns, and a 134.6 passer rating. Whether or not he deserves to be paid like a top-32, he at least deserves to make more money than he already has.
According to Spotrac, Willis is now looking at $71 million in his next contract. He's the next player in a long list of reclamation projects and promising quarterbacks who struggled right out of the gate on a bad team. It just so happens that it will launch him out of the Packers' price range.
Will Rattler follow in his steps and become the next Sam Darnold? Perhaps that's a little too much to ask, but the precedent is there, and the Packers have a big need for someone to be Jordan Love's backup.