The Green Bay Packers improved to 6-2 on the season following their 30-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. For the second week in a row, new kicker Brandon McManus drilled the game-winning field goal as time expired, highlighting that the Packers, finally, have fixed their kicker situation.
Indeed, kicker was an area of focus during the offseason after Anders Carlson struggled as a rookie in 2023. At the end of the day, Carlson, Greg Joseph, and Brayden Narveson were all told they simply were not good enough and released. These decisions required general manager Brian Gutekunst to acknowledge his mistakes and do what was best for the team.
Not all NFL general managers do that.
Green Bay Packers Backup Quarterback Malik Willis Shines Again After Another Jordan Love Injury
Unfortunately for the Packers, their starting quarterback, Jordan Love, had to be removed from the win in the third quarter after suffering another injury. During the game, it was revealed that Love sustained a groin injury which prevented him from moving and playing as well as he should. He finished his day having completed 14 of 22 passes for 196 yards and an interception.
With Love sidelined, the Packers, once again, had to turn to Malik Willis to help them win the game. Willis, who was acquired via trade after training camp, previously led Green Bay to two wins this season while Love was out with a sprained MCL.
Willis completed four of five passes for 56 yards and a touchdown. He also added 23 rushing yards on four attempts.
Among NFL quarterbacks who have attempted at least 30 passes, Willis has the highest passer rating:
And all the Packers had to give up for Willis was a seventh-round pick.
NFL Analyst Believes the Green Bay Packers Should Trade for Justin Fields After the Jordan Love Injury
Of course, Willis was acquired from the Tennessee Titans after two Gutekunst draft picks, Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt, failed to perform well in training camp and preseason games. While no team plans for their starting quarterback to get hurt, it is imperative to have a quality backup just in case.
Neither Clifford nor Pratt were good enough to be considered quality backups and both were released. Clifford was re-signed to Green Bay’s practice squad while Pratt was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and placed on their practice squad.
The trade for Willis, in hindsight, may have Gutekunst’s most underrated move of the year.
Now with Love potentially out for Green Bay’s next game, a pivotal matchup with the Detroit Lions, Max Dible of Heavy believes the Packers should look to add to their quarterback room again by trading for Justin Fields of the Pittsburgh Steelers:
“Fields would be among the highest-end safety plays the Packers could make in case Willis struggles against a better class of opponents and/or suffers an injury himself. The team averaged well over 200 yards rushing against the Colts and Titans with Willis under center, but that kind of production is unlikely against opponents like Detroit and San Francisco.”
Fields completed 66.3% of his passes for 1,106 yards, five touchdowns, and an interception in six starts for the Steelers this season before Russell Wilson got healthy.
The problem with this idea, though, is that it assumes that Fields would be able to play well against teams like Detroit and San Francisco. While the Steelers did beat the Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, and Los Angeles Chargers with Fields under center, they also lost the Indianapolis Colts.
It also assumes that Fields would be able to learn Matt LaFleur’s playbook fast enough to run the offense.
It sounds like Love, however, avoided major injury. That being said, there is no guarantee that he will play on Sunday against the Lions. Rather, the Packers may choose to allow their star quarterback to rest because they have their Bye Week after the Detroit game. That would give him 20 days to recover.
If that is the case, Green Bay is much better off rolling with Willis, who already knows the playbook. Love will likely be back after the bye, meaning that any trade would be pointless in the long run.
