Sean

Clifford

He was an exclusive rights free agent. Tinsley pushed former third-rounder Jermaine Burton out of Joe Burrow’s circle of trust in the preseason and managed an 8/116/2 seasonal receiving line, with 15 of those targets coming against the Ravens and Patriots as Tee Higgins was out. Tinsley isn’t exactly a fantasy football sleeper, but Burrow’s rapport with him does make him interesting as a contingency plan. The Bengals also signed these 18 other players to ERFA one-year deals or futures contracts: LB Liam Anderson, C Jacob Bayer, HB Gary Brightwell, QB Sean Clifford, OT Andrew Coker, DT Howard Cross, OT Javon Foster, WR Xavier Johnson, CB Jalen Kimber, CB Bralyn Lux, WR Jordan Moore, LB Antwaun Powell-Ryland, S Russ Yeast, DE Isaiah Foskey, LB Joe Giles-Harris, LB Shaka Heyward, TE Cam Grandy, and S PJ Jules.

Clifford will join newly signed Mike White on the Cincy practice squad as Jake Browning takes over at quarterback for the remainder of the season following Joe Burrow’s season-ending toe injury. Brett Rypien is expected to be the team’s backup to Clifford. Either White or Clifford will serve as QB3. Clifford completed 9-of-17 attempts for 44 scoreless yards in three preseason outings for Green Bay last month.

The Packers also waived rookie QB Taylor Elgersma. This leaves just Jordan Love (thumb) and Malik Willis on the active roster. We take it as a good sign for Love’s health.

Love is expected to miss about three weeks according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, and at least for Week 2 against the Colts it will be Willis under center and not Sean Clifford. Green Bay made the trade for Willis just before the start of the year, and the speedy 25-year-old will have one of the better group of weapons to throw the football to. Willis also hasn’t shown in the preseason and his limited action in actual games that he may not be the guy to get those players the football. The ability to run makes Willis interesting on top of those receiving corps, but there’s a ton of volatility in using Willis as a fantasy fill-in.

Per Rapoport, Love suffered an MCL sprain between grade one and grade two in the final seconds of Green Bay’s Week 1 loss to the Eagles. Now all eyes are on the Packers’ backup situation. Malik Willis, who the Packers traded for late in the summer, opened the season as Love’s backup. He took two snaps to end the game on Friday. His second rep was a game-ending sack on a failed hail mary play. An inability to handle pressure plagued Willis in Tennessee and appears to have followed him to Green Bay. Sean Clifford, on the other hand, was waived when the Packers cut down to their 53-man roster and then landed on the team’s practice squad. Neither option looks good and the Packers could ultimately land a free agent addition as their best bet.

The Packers got the ball back down five with less than 30 seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter. Love opened the drive with a dart to Jayden Reed for a 33-yard gain. He had his ankle rolled on by a Philly defender while desperately trying to avoid a sack on the next play. Trainers spent time on the field with a writhing Love before helping him to the sideline. Malik Willis took the final two snaps. Love also appeared to be dealing with calf soreness through much of this game. Prior to the injury, the second-year starter was putting together a solid performance with 260 yards and two scores while completing 17-of-34 passes. He was intercepted once on an ill-advised throw to Luke Musgrave. Regardless of the scoreboard, Love’s health will be the big concern for Packers fans coming out of this game. Green Bay has Malik Willis on the roster and Sean Clifford on their practice squad as potential replacements for Week 2 against the Colts.

Clifford was selected in the fifth round of last year’s draft and spent all of last season as Jordan Love’s backup. The long-time Penn State product underwhelmed in camp and the preseason, which prompted a trade for Titans’ quarterback Malik Willis earlier in the week. The trade for Willis spelled an obvious end for Clifford’s tenure in Green Bay. It’s possible he makes his way back as a practice squad member, but he’ll need to clear waivers first.

Clifford was the backup to Jordan Love last year, but Michael Pratt has given Clifford a run during the summer, and both quarterbacks rotated throughout the game. The 26-year-old started out as poorly as possible while completed just 1-of-7 passes for 13 yards, and Pratt looked the part while leading the Packers on a couple scoring drives. Clifford was much better in the second half, however, and Pratt threw a pick and briefly had to go to the medical tent after attempting to make a tackle in frustration. Both signal-callers had their moments in this one, but it seems likely that Clifford will begin the year as the backup quarterback.

Love has struggled mightily over the past month. He has the NFL’s second lowest completion rate over expected and he’s 20th in quarterback success rate. Against the Broncos in Week 7, Love threw for just 180 yards and two somewhat lucky touchdowns in a loss to one of the league’s worst teams. “It all works in unison and, so, the better everybody is around him, the better he’s going to look,” LaFleur said Monday. “Our confidence in him is not wavering one bit. Certainly, I think, as the play-caller you put a lot of onus on yourself when things aren’t going well. We’ll continue to do that, but we’ve got to find a way to generate more points because when you’re generating points, it’s just a totally different narrative.” The rest of the season will be something of a tryout for Love, 25, as the Packers determine whether he’s a long-term starter. The Packers play the Vikings in Week 8.

Clifford has impressed in training camp and completed 73 percent of his preseason attempts for one touchdown and two picks while posting a 7.7 yards per attempt. LaFluer and Love said recently that Clifford picked up Green Bay’s offense quickly. A mobile quarterback at Penn State, Clifford will have some appeal in superflex leagues if Jordan Love misses any game time in 2023.