NFL teams that do not have a franchise quarterback are always looking for one. It is pretty simple why that is the case; teams with a franchise signal-caller have a chance to win a Super Bowl. If you look around the NFL, the top teams have one. Luckily for the Green Bay Packers, they have one of the very best in Aaron Rodgers. Today, we take a look at Rodgers and the rest of the Green Bay Packers quarterbacks heading into the 2021 season.
Green Bay Packers Quarterbacks Led by One of the Very Best
When discussing the Packers quarterbacks, the conversation has to start with Rodgers. Rodgers took over for Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre in 2008. Since then, he has been one of the best at the quarterback position.
The Packers have had an elite quarterback since 1992. No other franchise can say that. That streak continues heading into 2021 with Rodgers reporting for training camp this past week. Joining Rodgers in the Packers quarterbacks room will be a signal-caller of the future and a developmental prospect.
Here is a breakdown of the Packers quarterbacks for this year’s training camp.
Aaron Rodgers
The Packers have been pegged as Super Bowl contenders for 2021. Aaron Rodgers’ presence is a big reason why. Packers fans owe former general manager Ted Thompson a big thank you. If Thompson wouldn’t have had the guts to select Rodgers in 2005 when the Packers still had Favre, who knows where this franchise would be.
Since taking over as the Packers starting quarterback, Rodgers has been one of the best in the NFL. During that span, Rodgers has been named NFL MVP three times, been a Super Bowl MVP, been All-Pro first team three times, and led the Packers to a Super Bowl victory in 2010. His most recent league MVP performance came last season. In 2020, Rodgers threw for 4,299 yards with 48 touchdowns and only five interceptions. Rodgers’ play was the major reason the Packers made it to the NFC Championship game for a second straight season.
With entering his third season in head coach Matt LaFleur’s offense, even bigger things are expected from Rodgers. That should scare the other teams in the NFC North, as well as the rest of the NFL. No matter what happened over this past off-season, Rodgers is still the Packers guy under center. If Rodgers stays healthy, the Packers will continue to be Super Bowl contenders. There are only a few players that can carry a franchise on their back and Rodgers is one of them.
[pickup_prop id=”4827″]
Jordan Love
Expectations of Jordan Love have died down since Rodgers returned to the team. However, Love finds himself moving up the Packers quarterbacks depth chart heading into 2021. With Rodgers returning, that made veteran quarterback Blake Bortles expendable. Bortles was released not long after Rodgers arrival. With Bortles gone, that makes Love the primary backup to Rodgers.
Unlike 2020, which didn’t have any preseason games due to COVID, Love should see a lot of action in the Packers three preseason games this season. That action will give Love the necessary in-game experience he will need for his development. With Tim Boyle, who was Rodgers primary backup in 2020, now with the Detroit Lions, Love won’t have any competition. It is a big move for him because if Rodgers goes down it will be Love’s show to run. It could also give fans a glimpse if Love was worth the first-round draft choice that Brian Gutekunst spent on him in 2020.
Kurt Benkert
Rounding out the Packers quarterbacks group is Kurt Benkert. Benkert split his college career between East Carolina and Virginia. He was Virginia’s starting quarterback from 2016-2017. In his last season with Virginia, he threw for 3,207 yards and 25 touchdown passes with just nine interceptions.
Even with his production in his last season at Virginia, he went undrafted. He eventually signed with the Atlanta Falcons and spent 2018 on the Falcons practice squad. The following season, he suffered a toe injury which forced him to the injured reserve, where he stayed for the season. He returned in 2020 and once again spent most of his time on the Falcons practice squad. Benkert was elevated to the active roster for one game, but then returned to the practice squad. He was released after the 2020 season and signed by the Packers this off-season.
Benkert has some tools to work with. Spending time with LaFleur, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, and quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator Luke Getsy should help with his development.
LWOPF Projection for Packers Quarterbacks in 2021
Rodgers as the starter, Love as backup, and Benkert on the practice squad
Main Photo
