GREEN BAY, Wis. — You never truly know how badly you need a competent backup quarterback until you need one.
The Green Bay Packers would prefer not to wait until that point. They've had the luxury of Malik Willis stabilizing the position behind Jordan Love for each of the past two seasons, but he's a luxury that they can no longer afford. He signed a three-year deal with the Miami Dolphins worth $67.5 million dollars that includes $45 million dollars guaranteed over the next two years.
Willis has more than earned that payday. General manager Brian Gutekunst flipped a seventh-round pick to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for Willis after the battle for the No. 2 quarterback job between Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt left just about everyone uninspired.
That decision ended up paying massive dividends for the Packers. Willis stepped in and helped win a pair of games for the Packers in 2024, beating the Indianapolis Colts and Titans in back-to-back weeks while Love was sidelined with a groin injury. He also replaced Love in the second half of a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, completing four of his five pass attempts for 56 yards and a touchdown, adding another 23 yards on the ground.
This past season, Willis started his third game for the Packers. Love, who had sustained a concussion the week prior in a loss to the Chicago Bears, missed the Dec. 27 meeting with the Baltimore Ravens. Willis took the reins in what would ultimately be his final audition ahead of free agency, and he excelled, completing just south of 86 percent of his passes for 288 yards and a touchdown, adding 60 rushing yards and another pair of touchdowns to his stat line as well.
Matt LaFleur and Malik Willis exchange words after a fumble against the Ravens on Dec. 27. (Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
Across his two-year stint in Green Bay, Willis was 70-of-89 for 1,233 yards from scrimmage and nine total touchdowns. Now, the Packers are back in the market for a backup quarterback -- Kyle McCord and Desmond Ridder are currently on the roster, but Gutekunst isn't going to shy away from an opportunity to strengthen the room. That means potentially pursuing a veteran signal-caller such as Kirk Cousins, who has familiarity with head coach Matt LaFleur.
According to The Athletic, Cousins' name -- among others -- is one that the Packers have already done their homework on.
"Yeah, we've discussed a lot of those options," Gutekunst said at the NFL Annual Meetings in Phoenix, Arizona. "Obviously, that's a guy who's got a lot of pelts on the wall in this league, so we've certainly discussed all those kinds of things."
Cousins, a former fourth-round pick of the Washington Commanders, had LaFleur as his position coach for each of his first two years in the league. A reunion could make sense for both sides as the Packers aim to fill the void left behind by Willis, and it'd be incredibly cost-friendly to do so. The 38-year-old Cousins has $10 million dollars in guaranteed money from the Atlanta Falcons that would offset once he signs elsewhere, paving the way for what will likely be a veteran minimum contract of $1.2 million.
Kirk Cousins runs out of the tunnel at Lambeau Field for a game against the Packers on Jan. 1, 2023. (Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
The Packers -- and Gutekunst -- have seen more than enough of Cousins through the years to gauge whether or not he could admirably fill the role. He spent six seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and would face the Packers twice a year, with the exception of 2021 and 2023 -- the latter marked his final year with the team. It was actually against the Packers that Cousins played his final game for the Vikings before suffering a torn Achilles tendon.
Prior to the injury, Cousins had started 88 of a possible 90 games for the Vikings and finished his career in Minnesota as one of the franchise's most prolific passers. He ranks No. 3 and No. 2 on the all-time list in passing yards and touchdowns, respectively.
The Falcons signed Cousins to a four-year contract worth $180 million one month before spending a top-10 draft pick on Michael Penix Jr. Cousins appeared in 24 games during his stint with the Falcons, throwing 38 touchdowns and 26 interceptions. He was released by the team at the start of the new league year earlier this month. Whether he can return to form remains to be seen, but the further he moved from his devastating Achilles injury, the better he performed.
Kirk Cousins throws a touchdown pass against the Rams on Dec. 29. (Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
Starting opportunities in the league are hard to come by, so Cousins' best bet is to latch on somewhere as a No. 2. Another avenue for him is to simply play the game -- a team could lose its starting quarterback to an injury during the season, opening the door for Cousins to step in. That's what happened with the Vikings and Carson Wentz this past season.
As of right now, there are only two real vacancies at quarterback across the league: the Las Vegas Raiders and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Raiders are the projected landing spot for Indiana's Heisman-winning quarterback and presumed No. 1 overall pick, Fernando Mendoza. The Steelers, meanwhile, are awaiting word on whether or not Aaron Rodgers will return to the team for a second season and 22nd overall.
Zachary Jacobson is the Editor-in-Chief of Packer Report. He is entering his 12th season covering theGreen Bay Packers. He is a member of thePro Football Writers of America. Follow him on Twitter@zacobson or contact him via email atitszachariahj@gmail.com