There won’t be a lot of relevancy to the Green Bay Packers' regular season finale against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday in terms of the playoffs. But while there's not much on the line, the story is different for quarterback Clayton Tune.
Tune is expected to get the start on Sunday as the Packers have nothing to gain by rushing Jordan Love back from a concussion, and backup Malik Willis is nursing a shoulder injury. While a matchup against fellow backup Max Brosmer will be far from the biggest storyline from Week 18, Tune’s performance could determine whether he has a spot on the team in 2026, making a big performance critical to his future in Green Bay.
That future seems to have gotten a bit complicated on Wednesday. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Packers have signed Desmond Ridder to their active roster with a chance he could be elevated for Sunday’s game. While Ridder is unlikely to resurrect his career in Green Bay, it may be enough to put extra pressure on Tune in Week 18.
Clayton Tune’s Future with Packers Could Be on the Line in Week 18
Tune was picked up by the Packers back in August but spent most of the season on the practice squad behind Love and Willis. He had his first elevation to the active roster after Love missed last week’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens and got into the game when Willis left due to his shoulder injury. Unfortunately, that opportunity didn’t go well as a dropped pass by converted cornerback Bo Melton wound up being an interception.
Tune will all but likely be elevated to start against the Vikings on Sunday, but Ridder’s addition is interesting. The former third-round pick by the Atlanta Falcons has 18 career starts under his belt, including 17 in his first two seasons before being traded to the Las Vegas Raiders.
While his overall body of work isn’t inspiring with a 63.6% completion rate, 4,0002 yards, 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 25 career games, it’s better than Tune’s, who has appeared in 14 games with one start over his first three seasons.
Again, this could all just be trying to get through a meaningless regular season finale on Sunday. But it could also go beyond that with offseason implications as well.
Willis has performed well in relief of Love over the past two weeks, completing 27-of-32 (84.4%) passes for 409 yards and two touchdowns while running for two more in last week’s loss to the Ravens. While Willis’s resume as a full-time starter with the Tennessee Titans is also uninspiring, the last two weeks may have been enough for him to get a massive contract from a quarterback-starved team this offseason.
If that happens, the Packers will be in the market for a backup quarterback and it doesn’t make sense to dive into the retread bin when Daniel Jones ($14 million), Russell Wilson ($10.5 million), and Marcus Mariota ($8 million) got deals north of $8 million last season – especially with the Packers sitting with $8.2 million in cap space entering next offseason.
With that, Sunday’s game could be an audition for the backup quarterback job in 2026. If Tune plays well, he could make a strong case to be a cheap option. If not, Ridder could get some run as a Willis-type flier and wind up auditioning for the job going into the offseason.
However you look at it, Tune has a lot on the line if he starts against the Vikings on Sunday.