AP

When quarterbacks started dropping like flies recently, teams had to take steps if they had a guy on the practice squad they wanted to keep.

The Saints promoted theirs (Ryan Griffin) from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, while the Packers just gave theirs a raise.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Packers bumped practice squad quarterback Scott Tolzien’s salary from $6,000 a week to more than $32,000 a week, or right at the league minimum for second-year players.

The Packers have done that before, bumping the pay of practice squad guys to keep them around, and the move indicates they want to make sure they keep Tolzien around for camp next year.

“There’s great people,” Tolzien said recently of the Packers. “It has been an easy transition. It’s a great working environment. It’s always business first, but guys get in their laughs, too.”

Laughing all the way to the bank helps as well.