“I have three years invested in Brett Hundley”

When Mike McCarthy angrily uttered those infamous words, every Packer fan knew that stubborn old Mike was going to make yet another catastrophic blunder and ride the season out with Brett Hundley as his quarterback.

Everyone who watches the NFL except for Mike McCarthy knew that this decision would end badly because Brett Hundley is incapable of running an NFL offense for a long period of time. The reality is that when you have three years invested in a player, you are completely aware of that player’s strengths and weaknesses.

With that in mind, Mike clearly thought that his superior coaching and play calling experience would be able to make up for many of Brett Hundley’s deficiencies. Like he often does, Coach Mike grossly overplayed his hand with Brett Hundley and as a result, he had to fire many members of his coaching staff that he deemed responsible for the team’s poor performance in 2017. (At least we finally got rid of Capers)

His Performance Does Not Live up to His First Name:

With a 3-6 record as a starter and many putrid offensive displays, it is time for Mike to pull the plug on Brett Hundley as his backup quarterback. Normally I would back up this statement with a litany of stats and analysis but with Brett Hundley, the simple eye test will suffice.

If you have watched more than a couple of quarters of Brett Hundley play quarterback, then you already know that at best, he can be the backup quarterback of a bad team, which the Green Bay Packers were this season. However, if your starting quarterback is injured for half of the season and you need a quarterback that can make positive plays and throw the ball down the field, Brett Hundley is not your guy.

After a few experiences of missing Aaron Rodgers for multiple games, we have seen how the experiments of Brett Hundley and Scott Tolzien have gone. The results with Hundley and Tolzien show that having a capable and experienced backup quarterback who can make the occasional throw down the field and manage a game, can salvage a season and propel the team to the playoffs.

The Packers need to study this blueprint and bring in an experienced back up quarterback that can take the controls of the offense in the disastrous event that Aaron Rodgers needs to miss a few games due to injury.

Economical unrestricted Free Agent Options: *(AJ McCarron is an RFA)

1. Ryan Fitzpatrick- Fitzpatrick has proven his ability to perform well in a proven system with weapons around him to throw the ball to. He can move the ball downfield and consistently put up points and has been an NFL starter for a long time.

2. Josh McCown- McCown led an awful Jet team to 5 wins this season and consistently was able to throw the ball downfield despite having limited weapons on offense. McCown showed his ability to move around in the pocket to create more time for his receivers, as well as scramble with his legs to make plays.

3. Sam Bradford- Sam Bradford when healthy can lead an offense for an extended amount of time and can consistently move the ball down the field. At this stage in his career, with injury after injury, it may be time to transition into a backup role and maximize his NFL earning power because the big paydays are likely behind him.

4. Teddy Bridgewater- This signing would be the ultimate risk-reward signing and would likely be for only a 1-year deal. Bridgewater could continue to get comfortable by consistently seeing practice and preseason reps and shake off the rust from missing over two full seasons of action. If an injury occurred, Bridgewater has the chance to market himself for a multi-year deal and starting job, if not, Bridgewater would at least be ready to compete for a starting job during the 2019 season.

Any of these options will provide an upgrade at the backup quarterback position because these players have all had experience leading an offense and have the ability to manage a game and consistently make throws down the field and put up points.

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David Michalski is a recent college graduate from Princeton New Jersey who has been a life long Green Bay Packers fan. Like the great Vince Lombardi, he values God, family, and the Green Bay Packers in that order. You can follow him on twitter at @kilbas27dave

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