As the 2023 Packers roster comes together, Green Bay could still use help in one major category…veteran mentorship. With so much young and talented potential on the field, savvy locker room leaders could help the new look Green and Gold get to another level. While many look towards the wide receiver room as a place in need of veteran help, Lambeau’s newest field general, Jordan Love, could also benefit greatly from someone who’s been there and done that.
Enter Nick Foles. The former Super Bowl MVP and 11 year veteran is looking for a new home after being released by the Indianapolis colts.
Foles has one of the most unique journeys in NFL history. With both Super Bowl pedigree and NFL journey man experience that spans six teams, the veteran qb is an almost unheard of asset as a mentor. In Foles, the Packers and Love would be getting someone with a ton of scheme versatility and league knowledge as well as a guy who could teach from experience in any pressure situation the league has to offer.
Prior to this year Foles reputation might have made him too much of a gamble for a team with a first year starter. It’s not his fault. The man who toppled Tom Brady on the NFL’s biggest stage comes with a lot of heat. In his first few years post Super Bowl the idea that he could still come in and produce magic was ever present. You could feel it rumble through the fan bases in Jacksonville and Chicago any time the QB on the field struggled. That vibe faded in Indianapolis. Foles struggled in just two starts for the Colts last year, throwing four picks and not a single touchdown. He is now firmly in the “help a younger” guy part of his career.
There is no world we’re Foles overshadows what the team is trying to build with Love. Foles himself joked about how irrelevant he’s become from a public perception stand point in a recent interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“I said [to the guy], ‘My name’s Nick.’ I had glasses on, backward hat,” Foles said discussing a run in on the Pickleball court. “[He said], ‘Man, you should have been like an NFL tight end with how big you are.’ … [I told him] I actually just finished my 11th year in the NFL. He asked what position, [I said], ‘I play quarterback,’ [and] told him I played for the Eagles. [He said], ‘Y’all almost won the Super Bowl.’ [I told him] I actually did win the Super Bowl, [he goes], ‘Oh, you didn’t play in the game though. You were backing up.’”
Most young quarterbacks fail in the NFL. Some for skill and ability reasons. Others situationally. But in an era where teams draft and start guys immediately, Green Bay is bucking the trend. They are re-rolling out the “Aaron Rodgers development path” playbook. And they’re using the same guy who helped Rodgers grow, veteran QB coach Tom Clements.
“Just watching him last year. I think Jordan’s made some huge strides,” LaFleur said recently via NFL.com. “I really do, and I think a lot of it is a credit to Tom, and just, he knows how to train these guys. He knows how to drill them and he’s very, very consistent. He doesn’t sugarcoat anything. He just is matter of fact, and I think there’s no doubt.
I asked Jordan after the season how he felt about him, and he said he loved Tom, and thought he did a helluva job helping him, you know, develop over the course of the year.”
Rodgers also went out of his way to rave about Clements for helping him develop as a young player.
Adding Foles to a room led by Clements could be the perfect recipe for Love success.
If Foles to Green Bay ends up not being a fit, there are still veteran options available that could provide a similar amount of leadership. Let’s look at a few.
Carson Wentz
When Wentz’s name was put on Packer fans radar last week you could hear the state of Wisconsin let out a collective “Uhg.” He might be the least sexy free agent name you could imagine. But he is an established league veteran with blankety-blank starts on his resume. The upside here is if not expected to be a starter perhaps Wentz is a valuable asset. If his responsibilities are limited to supporting Jordan Love, helping him grow, and coming in only when needed, maybe Wentz can surprise some of his haters. The downside is being a part of his continued career landslide. Wentz has the trajectory of someone who is one strike away from signing a deal with an XFL team and doing local car dealership commercials in his hometown.
Matt Ryan
Like Wentz, Matt Ryan’s recent performances aren’t going to excite anybody. What should be interesting to Packers fans is the opportunity to continue Love’s tutelage under another former NFL MVP. Three years under Rodgers was invaluable. 12 helped teach Love how to be a pro. Now Ryan could help teach him as he gets actual reps as a pro. This feels like a home run for Green Bay but is likely unrealistic. Is a player of Matt Ryan’s former caliber looking to end his career as a mentor? It seems more likely that he would want to end things as a starter or at the very least as a backup for a team that has Super Bowl potential.
Teddy Bridgewater
No quarterback has defined the area between starter and backup in recent years more than Bridgewater. One could easily see Bridgewater being still interested in an opportunity to compete. Let’s not forget that the Tua we saw last year wasn’t the Tua of previous years. Bridgewater went to Miami thinking he had a chance. Just like he went to New Orleans thinking he could be the succession plan. If willing to play the supportive role to a young guy, Bridgewater could also be a great mentor. Despite not having the stats of Ryan, Bridgewater has been good at one thing throughout his career. He is an efficient and winning quarterback when it matters. Would be nice to have that in the quarterback room with Love. The 30-year-old has received a contract offer from the Detroit Lions, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, but has yet to make any decisions.
