Green Bay Packers: Is Scott Tolzien Aaron Rodgers backup?

By Keegan Matheson | Mar 10, 2015

The Green Bay Packers made a huge splash late Saturday night with the re-signing of Randall Cobb to a four-year, $40 million contract, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t more housekeeping to do. Lance Allan of NBC Milwaukee reported that the Green Bay Packers also re-signed quarterback Scott Tolzien to a one-year contract, making him the early favorite to back up Aaron Rodgers in 2015.

Just told by #NFL source that Scott Tolzien has agreed to re-sign with #Packers. One year deal worth around $1.375 million
— Lance Allan (@lanceallan) March 8, 2015

Tolzien spent his first two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers after the undrafted free agent was claimed off waivers from the San Diego Chargers, but has been with the Packers since September of 2013. Tolzien was also the starting quarterback of the Winconsin Badgers in 2009 and 2010, where he won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award for the most outstanding fourth year or senior quarterback in America.

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The term “game manager” will often be tagged to Tolzien. While I consider this somewhat of a lazy, blanket classification given too frequently, Tolzien does possess the skill set that many teams seek in their backup quarterback. His arm strength can leave much to be desired, but Tolzien has a football I.Q. that is well above average and can keep a team above water when playing within a strong offensive system like Green Bay’s.

Tolzien has not seen the field since 2013 and was frequently a healthy scratch this past season, but Mike McCarthy has been quick to defend the 28 year old. He did surprise with his deep ball in 2013 and the 2014 preseason, albeit a small sample size, and the knock on his arm strength that has travelled with him since college could be overblown by this point, especially when compared to Matt Flynn.

Flynn, who has become somewhat of a folk hero throughout his two tours in Green Bay for his timely play as a backup, could now be on the way out. Most notably, fans remember his week 17 start against the Detroit Lions on January 1st, 2012, where he threw for 480 yards and 6 touchdowns in a 45-41 barnburner.

Aug 16, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Scott Tolzien (16) gets a pass away before getting hit by St. Louis Rams defensive end Michael Sam (96) during the second half at Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

This contract suggests, however, that the Packers are ready for a change. Despite a fantastic preseason, Tolzien was largely kept in the number three role last year due to his lesser knowledge of the offense and experience within the scheme, so the thinking in Green Bay appears to be that a full offseason as the primary backup will suffice for Tolzien to be successful.

Tolzien is a nice piece, and one that Green Bay is better off having than not, but I continue to believe that the Packers should experiment with 1-2 quarterbacks in the later rounds over the next two drafts. General manager Ted Thompson didn’t strike gold with his most recent quarterback pick in B.J. Coleman, though little was expected from the 2012 seventh-rounder.

With Mike McCarthy now relinquishing his play-calling duties and taking a more overarching control of the team, the development of a young arm could more easily fall under him. Aaron Rodgers missed seven starts in 2013 and was in danger of missing time this past season with a calf injury, so adding talent behind him could have great importance going forward. Until then, Scott Tolzien should be the man, and he’ll “manage” the games well enough.

Next: Packers re-sign Cobb, cement offensive core

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