Make no mistake, the Green Bay Packers go as Jordan Love goes on offense. The young quarterback has continued to emerge as one of the best up-and-coming signal-callers in the NFL. However, he and the Packers are also entering uncharted territory since his emergence this season after losing backup Malik Willis in free agency. Willis, of course, signed with the Miami Dolphins, which has now installed veteran Tyrod Taylor as the backup in Green Bay.
After one drive from Love in the Packers' preseason opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Taylor got his first crack at running this new offense. And it took only that first drive — though the subsequent one didn't help — to show that Green Bay has a much different and perhaps far less reliable quarterback room supplementing Love going into the 2026 season.
Tyrod Taylor was highly concerning in his Packers debut
Love's opening drive ended in a field goal for the Packers, then the Green Bay defense forced a three-and-out. Taylor then took over. And if there was any hope for his tenure as the QB2 on the depth chart, it was that his veteran experience would be obvious whenever he took the field. That's not what happened, however.
Taylor led the Packers to a matching three-and-out after he took the ball, throwing two incomplete passes and then tossing a single completion short of the sticks to force the punt. It was as uninspiring as possible. Now, it's worth noting that he did come out to lead a second drive and, while it wasn't three downs and then back to the bench for Taylor and Co., it was still hard to like what you saw.
Not only was the biggest chunk of yardage for Green Bay on the drive a 15-yard penalty on Pittsburgh for unnecessary roughness, but Taylor was again pedestrian or worse. He went 2-for-2 on the drive, sure, but did so for just 11 yards while also adding a four-yard run for a first down.
Worse than the numbers, though, was the eye test. The offense with Taylor looked completely out of sorts, and Taylor didn't do much on his end to make you feel any differently. There were some missed throws (ultimately negated by penalties). Perhaps even more worrisome, as we've already alluded to, was the lack of anything downfield that looked remotely in-sync.
That stands out given what Willis provided for the Packers over the past two seasons. He wasn't Jordan Love, obviously, but he was able to fill in and keep Green Bay rolling with some inconsistent but explosive playmaking. And now that seems like it might be missing.
Jordan Love's health just became more important than ever before
Love hasn't been hurt often enough to carry the "injury-prone" label, but it's worth noting that the Packers have been without him for two full games and parts of others in the past two seasons. With that said, especially in the 2025 season, the Willis-led offense barely missed a beat and allowed Green Bay to stay in the playoff mix without their starting quarterback.
That looks like it might not be as sure of a bet, even with Matt LaFleur, to be something that Green Bay can bank on this season.
Obviously, it's worth noting that Taylor is still getting adjusted to new personnel and a new offense, even with his experience in the NFL. Furthermore, he's not the only Packers backup quarterback who's vying for the job with Kyle McCord in the fray as well. At the same time, the early returns are just so starkly contrasted to what the team got from Willis in recent years that it's hard not to be a bit concerned.
If the sub-mediocre play of Taylor or whoever the Packers name as QB2 continues throughout the preseason, that's going to make Love's health that much more crucial for this team moving forward. It's going to feel a lot less like Green Bay can survive a couple-game stretch without their starter than it has in recent years.
Who knows if that's enough to spark a trade or bringing in another body to training camp, as we're still early in the preseason. But it became clear immediately that the Packers QB room isn't nearly as set as it was the past two years.
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