GREEN BAY – There's a new backup quarterback in town.
On Monday, the Packers added veteran Tyrod Taylor to their roster. The 6-foot-1, 217-pound quarterback has thrown for 13,033 yards, 73 touchdowns and 34 interceptions (87.7 passer rating) in 100 career games with 62 starts over 15 NFL seasons.
He is the only quarterback in NFL history with 10,000-plus passing yards, 2,000-plus rushing yards, 70-plus passing TDs, 20-plus rushing TDs and fewer than 35 interceptions.
Taylor, who turns 37 in August, entered the league with Baltimore in 2011 as a sixth-round pick out of Virginia Tech. He joins Kyle McCord and undrafted rookie Kyron Drones with Jordan Love in Green Bay's quarterback room.
"He's good player," Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said. "Played against him a long time. He's accurate, and he's mobile, so those are the two things that pop. And he's a playmaker. He can deliver the ball accurately, and it's hard to get him down in the pocket."
Here are five things to know about the Packers' new backup QB:
- Taylor has started games for six different NFL teams.
Taylor played his first four seasons with the Ravens, winning a Super Bowl ring in 2012. Coincidentally, Baltimore is the only team for whom Taylor never started a game.
Taylor signed with Buffalo in 2015 and beat out veteran Matt Cassel and first-round pick E.J. Manuel for the Bills' starting QB job, a position he held for the next three seasons.
Famously, Taylor's first start for Buffalo came at receiver while Cassel was at quarterback. He went back under center the next snap and stayed there the remainder of the game.
After 43 starts over three seasons in Buffalo, Taylor was traded to Cleveland for a third-round draft pick. He's made 19 starts over the past six years for the Browns (three), Los Angeles Chargers (one), Houston (six), New York Giants (five) and New York Jets (four).
- Taylor made the Pro Bowl (and playoff history) with the Bills.
Taylor enjoyed a career year with the Bills in 2015, earning his lone Pro Bowl appearance after completing 242-of-380 passes for 3,035 yards, 20 touchdowns and six INTs (99.4 passer rating). He also rushed for 568 yards and four TDs that year.
In what turned out to be his final year as the Bills' starting quarterback, in 2017, Taylor helped propel Buffalo to its first playoff appearance this century, ending an 18-year drought.
Taylor threw for 2,799 yards, rushed for 427 yards and scored 18 touchdowns (14 passing, four rushing) in 2017, as the Bills clinched the sixth and final AFC Wild Card spot in the playoffs. The Bills fell 10-3 to Jacksonville.
- Taylor served as Aaron Rodgers' backup in New York during the 2024 season.
A well-respected veteran, Taylor was brought to the Jets in 2024 to back up Rodgers and the two quickly hit it off.
Rodgers, who was coming off a season-ending torn Achilles that year, told ESPN.com in August 2024 how much he appreciated Taylor's veteran perspective.
"It helps having a guy who has played so much because he can see things through a different lens, because he's been around for so long," Rodgers said. "He has no obligation to do that for me; he's just a great teammate. So, we both help each other out."
Taylor made two relief appearances in 2024, completing 6-of-8 passes for 36 yards and a touchdown in the opener against San Francisco and throwing for 83 yards and two touchdowns in a Week 17 loss at Buffalo.
While Rodgers was cut after that season, Taylor stayed in New York to serve as the primary backup to Justin Fields in 2025. He threw for 779 yards with five TDs and five INTs in six games (four starts).
- Green Bay is one of two teams Taylor has never played against in the regular season.
The Packers and Minnesota Vikings are the only NFL teams Taylor has never faced in regular-season action after spending all but two seasons in the AFC.
It's quite an anomaly given Taylor's longevity. Among quarterbacks, only Rodgers (2005), Joe Flacco (2008), Josh Johnson (2008) and Matthew Stafford (2009) have played in the league longer than Taylor and 2011 draft classmate Andy Dalton.
Taylor and Dalton are two of only five active players from the 2011 draft (Von Miller, Cam Jordan and Cam Heyward).
- Taylor won't count towards the compensatory formula.
Because Green Bay waited until after the NFL Draft to sign Taylor, his contract won't affect the formula for the Packers' compensatory picks in 2027.
According to OverTheCap.com, Green Bay is expected to receive four additional picks in next year's draft after losing quarterback Malik Willis, receiver Romeo Doubs, linebacker Quay Walker, edge rusher Kingsley Enagbare and left tackle Rasheed Walker and signing only cornerback Benjamin St-Juste among compensatory free agents.
