Being the backup quarterback in Green Bay isn’t the job for anyone who needs immediate gratification.
But the Packers think they might have found the next guy who might go on to become successful and/or rich someplace else.
Via Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, the Packers are high on the potential of 2015 fifth-rounder Brett Hundley, with quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt saying confidently that Hundley could become “a solid starter” in the NFL some day.
Of course, they don’t want that to happen in Green Bay, because that would mean something bad happened to former MVP Aaron Rodgers.
But from Ty Detmer to Mark Brunell to Matt Hasselbeck to Aaron Brooks to Matt Flynn, the Packers have a tradition of developing guys behind Brett Favre or Rodgers to become productive citizens elsewhere.
Beyond any words, the Packers have demonstrated their belief in Hundley through their actions.
They let former backup Scott Tolzien walk in free agency (he went to the Colts), leaving Hundley and a couple of rookie free agents (Joe Callahan and Marquise Williams) as the only reserves behind Rodgers.
But Hundley showed them something during his limited work last year to give them that confidence. He led the league in preseason touchdown passes with seven, and though that was against a bunch of guys who are now car salesmen, his 129.6 passer rating at least indicated he was successful against peers.
So while he’d like to be playing like Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, he also knows having time to develop has worked for others — including Rodgers.
“A lot of these guys get thrown into the fire,” Hundley said, “and go downhill from there. To have this opportunity to learn — and learn from the best — it really will allow you to, when you do step into the game, to be that much better and ready for that moment.
“Obviously, Aaron is one of the best, if not the best, to ever do it. Hopefully, I can follow that up.”
While preseason reps are nice (and the Packers have a fifth preseason game so he’ll get plenty), Hundley’s primary job will be watching and learning from the guy ahead of him on the depth chart.
“He better be mirroring [Rodgers],” Van Pelt said. “If Aaron stops, he better get hit in the back by Brett. That’s how closely he should be following him.”
If he can, there’s likely a lucrative deal somewhere else for him, as so many Packers backups have found.
