Does Kyron Drones Affect Green Bay’s Backup QB Chaos?

Backup quarterback isn’t exactly the most exciting topic on draft day, but it’s easy to ignore until the starter goes down. Following the departure of rising star Malik Willis this offseason, the Green Bay Packers have big shoes to fill behind their franchise quarterback.

The Packers signed former third-rounder Desmond Ridder while preparing for the playoffs, and Kyle McCord to a futures contract following their playoff loss to the Chicago Bears. These moves appeared to serve as a temporary Band-Aid at the position, but both remain on the roster for now.

Plenty of fans and analysts thought the Packers would target a promising young prospect near the end of the draft to try to fill the hole Willis left. People were throwing around names like Cade Klubnik and Cole Payton before the draft, but they likely went before Green Bay was comfortable taking a quarterback.

The Packers traded their two seventh-round picks to take kicker Trey Smack at the bottom of the sixth round, signifying their lack of interest in the prospects remaining.

Enter Kyron Drones, an undrafted free agent out of Virginia Tech, whom the Packers signed Saturday.

Drones played his last three seasons with the Hokies, putting up decent numbers as a dual-threat QB. The question now is whether the Packers will stick with their current three options or explore other free agents. Rumors have circulated about a possible trade for Anthony Richardson after he requested a trade earlier in the offseason.

Although the Indianapolis Colts haven’t found any takers yet, Richardson remains an intriguing target because he’s similar to Malik Willis. Both came out of college as highly touted athletes with immense upside, but also great risk. Richardson and Willis each struggled with their first teams, showing some promise but lacking any real production.

The Colts may pick up Richardson’s fifth-year option to have a better chance of trading him, but spending $23 million on a backup is not ideal for any suitor. That will likely lead to a situation where a team desperate enough for a backup QB will trade for Richardson and see what he’s got in his final year on his rookie deal.

Landing Richardson could give Green Bay yet another unproven young passer to develop. There’s a universe where the Packers can mold Richardson into a starting-caliber player as he learns behind Jordan Love.

If Green Bay still shows no interest in Richardson, there aren’t many intriguing free agents. 36-year-old Tyrod Taylor could be a reliable backup and mentor for a still young team. However, Gutekunst seems to value young, high-upside players over seasoned veterans in the QB room.

Regardless of who wins Green Bay’s backup QB job come September, it’s more than likely they will have to step in for Love, who’s missed two games in each of the last two seasons. It will be interesting to see which players remain and which players emerge in the looming training camp battle with such a range of options and more still available.