With the seven-seed already locked up in the NFC playoff field, the Green Bay Packers rested their starters in Sunday's loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Backup quarterback Malik Willis, who made the start for the injured Jordan Love in Week 17, was inactive for the game with right shoulder and hamstring injuries, forcing head coach Matt LaFleur to roll with third-stringer Clayton Tune for the regular-season finale.
Tune, the third-year QB out of Houston, was atrocious in the loss to Minnesota, going 6-of-11 for 34 yards and getting sacked four times in a game the Packers had 121 yards of total offense in. As a result of the poor performance, the SleeperPackers X account noted on Tuesday that the Packers have released Tune and signed Desmond Ridder to the active roster ahead of Saturday night's wild-card game against the Chicago Bears.
Ridder, the fourth-year signal-caller out of Cincinnati, has 25 games of NFL experience under his belt. But with Willis set to become a free agent following the season and someone in Ridder coming in who is still unproven and relatively unknown, it shows that Green Bay has no answers for Willis' impending departure after cutting bait on Tune, who had been on the roster all season.
Green Bay Has More Questions than Answers at QB
Ridder brings three years worth of experience with him to Green Bay and produced his best season to date in 2023 when he was with the Atlanta Falcons, completing 64.2% of his passes for 2,836 yards with 12 TDs. However, he also accounted for 12 interceptions that season and has thrown 14 total in just 25 career games, so there is still plenty to work on as he gets acclimated to LaFleur's system.
Willis has proven to be a reliable QB2 behind Love, but considering he completed 78.6% of his throws for 972 yards, six TDs and zero interceptions in two seasons with the Packers, he has put himself in position to command a lot more money on the open market. With Love making a significant amount himself, it will be nearly impossible for Green Bay to keep Willis around, so it is likely that he will be suiting up somewhere else following the season.
In three seasons in the league, two with the Arizona Cardinals and one with the Packers, Tune has just 112 yards passing with zero TDs and three interceptions. He was brought in after the preseason when the team was unimpressed with Sean Clifford and Taylor Elgersma, but it is safe to say he did not give the Packers any confidence either. He could still come back to the practice squad potentially, but that seems like a waste of time given how awful he was.
The likely departure of Willis puts Green Bay in a QB2 hole, while its QB3 situation is uncertain unless the Packers elect to keep Ridder, who is not a sure thing himself with the past interceptions. For a franchise whose starting QB has missed two games each of the last two seasons, including the final two games of the 2025 regular season, the Packers need to have some reliable depth at the position. As of now, that looks questionable to say the least, especially with a tough road test in Chicago looming.