The Green Bay Packers have elevated a former first-round quarterback to their game-day roster.
The Green Bay Packers will be without Aaron Rodgers at quarterback this Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs due to testing positive for COVID-19. Since Rodgers is unvaccinated, he will sit out a mandatory 10 days and will miss the game, meaning that second-year signal caller Jordan Love will get the start against Kansas City’s porous defense.
But who will be Love’s backup, since Kurt Benkert is also on the COVID-19/reserve list?
The Packers officially announced on Saturday that they are elevating former Jacksonville Jaguars starting quarterback Blake Bortles from the practice squad to the active roster. The elevation of Bortles was not the only move the team made ahead of the Chiefs game.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling activated off injured reserve
Green Bay announced that wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling from the injured reserve. Valdes-Scantling had been out since Week 3 with a hamstring injury.
Through three games this season, Valdes-Scantling caught 6-of-16 targets for 76 yards and a touchdown. In his four-year career, the wideout has recorded 103 catches for 1,799 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Valdes-Scantling’s presence will be a welcome one for Love, as he will face off against a Chiefs defense that has surrendered an average of 269.8 passing yards per game in his first career start. Love will also have star wideout Davante Adams to target, as he was activated off the COVID-19/reserve list.
As for Bortles, he signed with the Packers this past offseason and was one of the quarterbacks competing for a roster spot. By the end of training camp, he was cut before the start of the season. Now, he will be Love’s backup in case things go haywire on Sunday.
From his time with the Jaguars (2014-18) to his brief stint with the Los Angeles Rams (2019), Bortles has thrown for 17,649 yards, 103 touchdowns and 75 interceptions while completing 59.3-percent of his passes.