3 QBs Packers can add to protect their greatest asset in Jordan Love

After one season as a full-time starter, the Green Bay Packers saw enough to make Jordan Love the highest-paid quarterback ever (for now).

Love joins Trevor Lawrence (Jacksonville Jaguars) and Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals) as the only signal-callers with a $55 million annual salary. Undoubtedly, the Packers are paying a steep price for someone who's generally unproven, albeit talented.

Green Bay had no choice but to give into Love's demands or risk losing him to unrestricted free agency in 2025. Nevertheless, the Packers are now significantly invested in the 25-year-old, effectively betting on his continued development with this contract.

Despite having so much stake in Love, the Packers inexplicably don't have a serviceable backup behind him on the depth chart. 

2023 fifth-round pick Sean Clifford isn't the most appealing alternative -- to put it kindly. Michael Pratt, one of their two seventh-round selections this year, is considered a developmental project with the upside of being a decent second option. Ultimately, both are uninspiring choices, and Green Bay needs to address the position adequately.

Here are three players the Packers could explore pursuing to get better Love insurance. While each has flaws, respectively, they're all exponentially better than Clifford/Pratt.

3. Ryan Tannehill, Unrestricted Free Agent

Seeing other teams' quarterback rooms across the NFL makes it a mystery that Ryan Tannehill remains unsigned. Several franchises can benefit from his services, like the Packers.

Tannehill's five-year tenure with the Tennessee Titans concluded in 2023. He got usurped by newcomer Will Levis following a midseason ankle injury, marking the end of a successful era.

In 63 starts with the Titans, Tannehill went 39-24, including three playoff appearances and a trip to the AFC Championship Game in the 2019 campaign. A former Pro Bowler, Tannehill can run an offense and do it well. He'd keep the ship afloat should he need to step in for Love. Moreover, Tannehill has sneaky rushing ability and is a threat to make plays with his legs. The veteran posted consecutive 250-yard, seven-touchdown rushing efforts in 2020 and 2021.

Yes, it wasn't pretty for Tannehill last season. He completed 64.8 percent of his passes for 1,616 yards, four scores and seven interceptions. But in Green Bay, he'd get an opportunity to reinvent himself in a role he's better suited for at this point of his career.

2. Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers

Buzz from Pittsburgh Steelers training camp suggests Justin Fields has a real possibility of being the team's starting quarterback -- not Russell Wilson.

So what does that mean for Wilson? Considering Pittsburgh signed him for the veteran's minimum, will they want to deal with the drama stemming from the fallout? Presumably not.

Wilson has been named a surprise cut/trade candidate, depending on how his competition with Fields goes. Should the latter prevail, the former could find himself searching for a new home despite landing in Pittsburgh in March.

Green Bay doesn't give Wilson the starting job he'll conceivably be scouring the market for. But then again, Pittsburgh was likely his best chance at that, so he'll have to settle. 

With the Packers, Wilson could mentor Love and fill in for him when called upon. We're well past the days of letting Russ "cook." Nonetheless, his experience and game-managing ability are valuable traits that Clifford and Pratt sorely lack.

From a surface-level statistical perspective, Wilson had a solid season in 2023, indicating he can still play to some degree. He completed 66.4 percent of his passes for 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 15 starts. 

A nine-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion, Wilson's pedigree alone makes him an upgrade. 

1. Hendon Hooker, Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions spending a third-round pick on Hendon Hooker in 2023 has aged poorly, in a good way.

Detroit chose Hooker to be an eventual successor for Jared Goff as the team's franchise quarterback. However, their initial evaluation of the latter as a short-term bridge option was wrong, evidenced by his massive $212.5 million contract extension this offseason.

With Goff locked up for the foreseeable future, Hooker will never see the field for the Lions, barring injury. How will Detroit proceed?

Hooker is a former Tennessee college standout whose under team control at a cost-friendly rate through 2026. His draft pedigree, age and $1.429 million average annual salary make him an intriguing prospect. He's one of the more notable under-the-radar trade candidates with a strong showing this preseason.

We don't have any NFL tape to assess Hooker by, but he's a former SEC Offensive Player of the Year. A 6-foot-4, 218-pound dual-threat option, the 26-year-old may be a hidden gem. But are the Lions willing to send him to a divisional foe like the Packers? That remains unclear.