Sean Clifford has completed exactly one regular-season pass during his career with the Green Bay Packers, one more than Malik Willis for the team he joined just last week.

These are the Packers’ two internal options if quarterback Jordan Love is unable to play in Week 2 against the Indianapolis Colts and beyond due to a left leg injury sustained in the final seconds of Friday’s 34-29 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Clifford, who backed up Love last season and caught a 37-yard pass from Bo Melton in Week 17 against the Minnesota Vikings on the only pass attempt of his rookie season, would have to be promoted or signed from the practice squad if the Packers wanted to go that route. But the Packers didn’t think enough of Clifford to give him a second year as QB2, and after a battle between him and rookie Michael Pratt in training camp, they traded a seventh-round pick to the Titans for Willis on Aug. 26.

The Packers felt Willis had learned enough about the offense in less than two weeks in Green Bay to be Love’s backup for the opening game. He took over the final two snaps against the Eagles after Love’s injury. The Tennessee Titans’ 2022 third-round pick threw an incomplete pass and was sacked on the final play of the game. Clifford reportedly traveled with the team to São Paulo but was not included in the roster for the game.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst decided not to sign a veteran backup this offseason because he liked Clifford’s play in his rookie preseason last summer and thought the strong Pratt, a seventh-round pick out of Tulane, could provide good competition.

But Clifford struggled early in training camp while Love sat out practice waiting for his contract extension to be finalized, and Pratt didn’t play well enough to keep the Packers from keeping him.

“I think there were certainly some disappointing performances at times,” Gutekunst said after the final cuts when asked about the Clifford Pratt competition.

Both quarterbacks were unclaimed following these cuts. While Clifford returned to the Packers practice squad, Pratt moved to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad.

Willis started three games as a rookie for the Titans in 2022 and Tennessee finished 1-2. Willis then appeared in just three games as a substitute for them last season.

“I think that was one thing this preseason — as we follow guys through the early stages of their careers — the one thing we’ve seen especially with this new coaching staff in Tennessee is how much he’s evolved on offense, playing out of the pocket and making plays that way,” Gutekunst said when he signed Willis.

“Once again, this will be new for him, and the quarterback position will obviously take a little time. But at the same time, I’m really excited to see where his development has taken him so far and where he’s going to go, especially with our group.”

Gutekunst certainly never imagined that they would have to accelerate his development to potentially start in Week 2.

The last time the Packers had a veteran former starting quarterback on the roster as a backup was Blake Bortles in 2021. He spent time with the Packers (when Aaron Rodgers skipped the offseason program that year) and returned to the practice squad in November of that year to back up Love, who started against the Chiefs because Rodgers was out with COVID-19.

The list of unemployed NFL veteran quarterbacks currently includes Ryan Tannehill, Trevor Siemian, Kellen Mond, Nate Sudfeld, CJ Beathard and PJ Walker.

An injury to Love in his first game since signing his four-year, $220 million contract that makes him the highest-paid player in the league would be the worst-case scenario. Love appeared to have cramps in his lower leg during Friday’s game, and several players, including Love, had trouble standing and slipped. There was no reason to believe any of those things played a role in his injury.

“Yeah, that was tough to watch,” Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark told reporters in Brazil. “That’s the franchise. Hopefully he can come back next week and be OK.”