News broke yesterday afternoon that the Green Bay Packers had signed veteran QB Tyrod Taylor. While Taylor was clearly signed to be the backup at best, this is still a key signing for the 2026 Packers.
In 2026, the Packers truly couldn’t afford to ignore the backup QB spot. Jordan Love has missed games in almost every year he’s played in the NFL. That even goes back to the years when he backed up Rodgers. Even during those early years, he semi frequently found himself on the injury report.
As a starter, Love has missed multiple games in 2 out of his 3 seasons. It’s not to the point where we start throwing around the “injury prone” moniker, but it’s also not nothing. In a loaded NFC conference where the margins will most assuredly be incredibly slim, one freak quarterback injury is the exact type of thing that could sink your season. Even if that injury only costs your starter a game or two.
Over the last two seasons us fans have sure learned how vital solid backup QB play really is. I still contend that the Green Bay Packers don’t make the playoffs in ‘24 without Malik Willis. So, with Willis out the door, and no real plan to fill his spot, the Packers pivoted to Tyrod Taylor.
So let’s dig into Tyrod Taylor’s career, and what he may bring to Green Bay!
First and foremost, Taylor is a 37 year old veteran who will be entering his 16th NFL season. This is a classic example of one of my favorite NFL player archetypes. He’s the grizzled old vet who had his chance as a starter, and now has fully accepted his status as backup/mentor going forward.
Taylor, widely regarded as an incredible locker room guy, is the EXACT type of player you love to see helping Jordan Love out as the backup QB.
Outside of the leadership/experience intangibles, here’s some other stats/notes I found worth sharing:
- – 19-13-1 career record as a starter
- – Appeared in 100 games throughout his career
- – 62.8% career completion rate
- – Over 13,000 career passing yards
- – Widely known for his ability to protect the ball, has posted a 73-34 TD to INT ratio so far in his career
- – 2,500 career rushing yards with 20 career rushing TDs
Looking through Tyrod Taylor’s career page, one thing in particular jumped out to me. Tyrod has been on some BAD teams in the last 5-10 years.
He spent the last four years on the Jets and Giants, played a couple years for the Browns, and had stints with the Chargers, Bills and Texans. All 3 of those stints came before those teams found their current franchise quarterbacks.
It makes sense if you think about it. Tyrod has sort of been seen as a low end starter/high end backup for his entire career. So, he’s made a habit of signing with lesser teams in search of a real chance to start.
While I can’t speak for Tyrod, it does seem like this may be the first time he’s signed for what is clearly a backup role. That is exciting to me. Tyrod will go from the absolute dumpster fire New York Jets last season to an offense that is perfectly suited for him as a backup.
If forced to start, he’ll enjoy an elite offensive coach, potentially the best he’s had in a decade, and a skill group that is set up to absolutely roll this season. That is something Tyrod Taylor hasn’t had in quite some time, maybe ever in his career.
This is an A+ move by the Green Bay Packers, and it continues what I feel has been a pretty stellar offseason given the circumstances. Now we obviously hope we don’t have to see Taylor play real minutes this season, but if he does we’ll be able to trust him.
