The Green Bay Packers were quickly priced out of Malik Willis when free agency opened, losing their backup quarterback to the Miami Dolphins on a whopping $22.5 million annual valuation. The Packers never had a chance to re-sign the 26-year-old QB at that amount, which started a search for a new backup signal-caller.
Despite free agency being a week old, Green Bay has yet to address the team's QB2 need. In fact, general manager Brian Gutekunst continues to twiddle his thumbs while the rest of the league keeps adding to their QB room.
Over the weekend, it was the Los Angeles Chargers who took care of their QB2 situation by re-signing Trey Lance to a one-year deal, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. Lance could have been an ideal target for the Packers, reminiscent of how they turned Willis' career around.
Lance has similarly struggled in his previous spots, but has enough talent and untapped upside that he would have been a worthy flyer for the Packers. Now, it's back to the drawing board.
Packers Must Cast a Wide Net to Find Malik Willis' Replacement
The Packers now have to turn to the remaining free agents.
The market is certainly dwindling, with solid options like Tua Tagovailoa, Kyler Murray, Gardner Minshew, and Kyle Allen all having signed new contracts. The best remaining quarterbacks are either in age-related decline, like Kirk Cousins, Russell Wilson, and Joe Flacco, or are unproven names with serious question marks like Zach Wilson and Easton Stick.
This brings up a fascinating question: Is any of these options better than the ones the Packers already have on the roster?
Green Bay brought in Desmond Ridder towards the end of last season and signed Kyle McCord to a reserve/futures contract after the season. There is a good chance that Gutekunst wants McCord and Ridder to battle it out in training camp to earn the QB2 role.
Ridder has a ton of starting experience and wasn't awful in his opportunities with the Falcons. McCord is only in his second season, but he turned some heads last summer with the Eagles in training camp and preseason.
A potential trade shouldn't be ruled out, either. That is how the Packers landed Willis two offseasons ago. Taking a flyer on a low-risk, high-reward quarterback, like the Indianapolis Colts' Anthony Richardson, seems like a move Gutekunst would be interested in.
The draft remains an avenue to land a backup QB, but this year's class is considered to be a very weak class for signal-callers. It's hard to imagine the Packers finding an immediate QB2-caliber option outside of Day 1, meaning someone already in the league is likely their best option.
It's still early in the offseason. More opportunities to land a quality QB2 will arise, but let's hope that the Packers don't regret watching their competition land one solid quarterback after another.