GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay’s Tyrod Taylor has been a reserve quarterback long enough to know the importance of building a relationship with the guy he’s backing up.
That’s why the 16th-year pro has been getting more familiar with Jordan Love since signing with the Packers last month.
“We didn’t know each other coming into this opportunity,” Taylor said. “We had a lot of respect for one another. Always talked pregame. But this is our first time working alongside one another. It’s about learning one another for sure.”
Taylor, who turns 37 on Aug. 3, has made 62 starts but has spent the majority of his career in a reserve role. He realizes the value of establishing trust between a starting quarterback and his backup.
“We’re each other’s eyes when we’re not on the field,” Taylor said. “Whether it’s looking for certain things while he’s on the field that he may not be able to see before he gets the tablet in his hands. Just keeping the communication as open as possible. Some people love more talkers on the sideline. Some people want things to be quiet. It’s about learning one another.”
The Packers had one of the NFL’s best backup quarterbacks the past two seasons in Malik Willis, who performed well enough in that role to graduate out of it by signing a three-year, $67.5 million contract to become the Miami Dolphins’ starter.
Green Bay hopes it has found an ideal replacement in Taylor, who started four games with the New York Jets last season.
The Packers believed in Taylor enough to sign him while releasing Desmond Ridder, who made 17 starts with Atlanta from 2022-23 and one with Las Vegas in 2024.
“He’s been at it for a long time, so it’s nice to have a guy in the room that’s played a lot of ball,” Love said. “He’s been in a lot of different offenses, and (he’s) just somebody that you can piggyback off and pick his brain.”
The other quarterbacks on Green Bay’s roster are Kyle McCord and rookie undrafted free agent Kyron Drones.
Taylor commanded immediate respect from his new team because of a track record that has included stints with the Baltimore Ravens (2011-14), Buffalo Bills (2015-17), Cleveland Browns (2018), Los Angeles Chargers (2019-20), Houston Texans (2021), New York Giants (2022-23) and Jets (2024-25).
“The cool part (is) when he walked in the room, you could feel the presence, the confidence, the composure,” quarterbacks coach Luke Getsy said. “He’s seen a lot.”
Taylor completed 59.7% of his passes with five touchdowns and five interceptions for the Jets last season.
Over his career, he has thrown for 13,033 yards and 73 touchdowns with 34 interceptions while also rushing for 2,424 yards and 20 touchdowns.
He won a Super Bowl with Baltimore in the 2012 season and would like to get another. He believes Green Bay provides that opportunity.
“I was fortunate enough to be part of a Super Bowl-winning team in Year 2,” Taylor said. “Over the course of the career, you realize how hard it is to get back. You definitely try to look for teams that have the best talent, but that doesn’t always win championships as well. It’s about the nucleus. It’s about the chemistry. Obviously it’s about staying healthy.
“Every team, this time of year, feels they have the pieces to do so. It’s about putting in the work, day in and day out, keeping the right mindset. And I think the guys in this locker room have the right mindset to achieve what we all want to achieve.”
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