GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers added a fourth quarterback on Wednesday in case Jordan Love and Malik Willis are held out or unavailable for Sunday’s regular-season finale at the Minnesota Vikings.
They signed Desmond Ridder to their practice squad, where they already have quarterback Clayton Tune.
Coach Matt LaFleur said that he would rest some starters to prepare for the playoffs but did not say which ones. Love remained in the concussion protocol after missing last Saturday’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Willis, who started that game, still has a right shoulder injury.
LaFleur said both Love and Willis would practice Wednesday on a limited basis.
“We’ve got four guys on our roster,” LaFleur said when asked to assess the quarterback position. “That’s where we’re at.” Tune, who was elevated from the practice squad for the Ravens game, finished Sunday’s loss after Willis aggravated his throwing shoulder.
Ridder, 26, spent parts of this season with the Vikings but did not appear in a game. The third-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2022 has played in 25 career games with 18 starts. He started 17 games for the Falcons in 2022 and 2023 combined, and they went 8-9 in those games. He made one start for the Las Vegas Raiders last season, a loss to the Falcons.
“Luckily for all of us, he’s had experience in similar systems,” LaFleur said. “He was with Vegas last year with [Packers senior assistant Luke] Getsy. He’s been in Atlanta with Arthur Smith, and Arthur and I have obviously worked together before. So there is some common language, I would say. I know, just talking to him, he was in Minnesota, and I’m sure that Kevin [O’Connell] has got some common language that we use that dates back to when we were all together, or when we were at separate times with Sean [McVay] in L.A. So [Ridder] seems like a smart guy, and we’ll see how fast he can pick it up.”
The Packers (9-6-1) have lost three straight games and cannot change their playoff position. They are locked into the NFC’s No. 7 seed.
“Here’s what I told the team,” LaFleur said. “We have 53 spots on our roster. You can have two [practice-squad] call-ups. You have to have 48 dressed on game day. So there are going to be some starters that aren’t going to play. They may not suit up, they might suit up. And then you’re going to have some starters that are going to play. So basically, you guys will find out on Sunday who’s playing.”
