If you rewind to April, you’d remember how Matt LaFleur was reflecting on the entire Jordan Love experiment. “I think Jordan’s come along nicely. It started off a little rocky… I was thinking, ‘Are we going to win anymore games?’” LaFleur admitted on The Pat McAfee Show after Round 1 of the draft. That was a head coach being honest about his QB’s 3–6 start in his first season as the team’s new starter, trying to carry the baton forward after the team had seen the likes of Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre before him under center. So, obviously, that start had the fanbase ready to light the cheesehead signal in the sky.

But Love flipped the script. The Packers went on a run, took out a few playoff hopefuls, and walked into Dallas in January with house-money swagger. “We beat some pretty good teams at the end of the year… fell short to the Niners, but I’m proud of just the guy that he is and how he leads,” LaFleur said. If that’s not an endorsement, it’s at least a clear sign: the Packers are still building around Love—but they’re also building behind him.

Enter Taylor Elgersma, who lit up Canadian college football with over 4,000 passing yards and 34 touchdowns last season—plus a trip to the Vanier Cup. He didn’t hear his name called on draft night, but Green Bay saw enough to keep him around. Maybe this is just camp depth. Maybe it’s just a developmental flier. But in a quarterback league, this is how teams find diamonds. Or at least guys who can hold the clipboard and step up when things go south.

Well, it’s not every Monday morning that a 23-year-old quarterback from Ontario makes NFL headlines. But the Packers are willing to give a shot to Taylor. According to NFL insider Tom Pelissero, the former Laurier Golden Hawk has officially signed with the Packers after an impressive showing at rookie minicamp. It’s a vote of confidence from a franchise that’s finally starting to feel stable at quarterback… but clearly isn’t done tinkering.

And this isn’t some fluke signing off a lucky camp arm. He earned this with reps, tape, and a resume that caught the right eyes. One of those eyes? Ben Neill from QB Country—the same quarterback whisperer who helped prep Bo Nix and Drake Maye. And Neill wasn’t exactly subtle about his first impression: “I was obviously blown away with his size and the length of his arms and hands… He just kind of walks like a quarterback, talks like a quarterback,” Neill said.

And that, folks, is why the Packers are keeping him around. Because even if Love is QB1, and even if Willis is in the mix, Elgersma might just be the quiet wildcard in that room. Especially with the Packers and LaFleur fully aware of the 2024 injury downside to their QB1.

Jordan Love’s 2024 ‘adversity’

Jordan Love didn’t flinch when 2024 got messy. He limped, adjusted, and played through the pain. The Packers’ QB1 got hit with a trifecta of injuries in 2024: an MCL sprain in Week 1, a groin strain by Week 8, and an elbow knock in Week 18. You can call it a setback. Love called it growth. “Having that adversity that I’m trying to fight through… it was a lot of that,” he told Up & Adams. No excuses. Just the truth of a season that never quite gave him a clean pocket.

The knee injury came first. Week 1 in São Paulo, against the Eagles. That MCL sprain cost him two games. He came back earlier than expected in Week 4—but the damage lingered. “It was a tough injury, one that limits you mobility-wise,” Love explained. And like most domino stories in football, that limitation led to the groin strain just weeks later. It didn’t end there. A final hit from the Bears in Week 18 added elbow pain to the mix. Still, he suited up for the Wild Card game. Still tried to carry the load.

The numbers? Not bad for a guy who was basically held together with tape and grit. Love completed 63 percent of his passes, posted 8.0 yards per attempt, and threw 25 touchdowns to 11 picks. A 96.7 passer rating in 15 games. But he didn’t finish strong. Three interceptions in the playoff loss to Philly left a sour taste. The flashes were there—just never fully synced across 60 minutes.

So now what? The Packers clearly aren’t taking chances. Taylor Elgersma’s signing shows they’re thinking beyond Love and Malik Willis. A healthy Love can win games. But a banged-up Love? That changes everything. The takeaway in Green Bay? Protect the QB at all costs. Or at least have a Plan B who you can trust.