Elgersma makes bid to stick with Packers

INDIANAPOLIS - Former Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawk Taylor Elgersma appears to have played himself into a showdown for the Green Bay Packers No. 3 quarterback role, after engineering three scoring drives in nearly a full half of playtime Saturday in his team’s 23-19 preseason win over the Indianapolis Colts.

With starter Jordan Love sitting this game out, Elgersma was the second quarterback in the game for Green Bay after No. 2 Malik Willis ran the offence for Green Bay’s first three possessions and then gave way with just less than five minutes to play before halftime.

And while Elgersma took a sack on his very first drop-back of the game, things improved greatly from there as he engineered a pair of touchdown drives, one 14 plays and 80 yards and the other 9 plays and 70 yards, including an 18-yard pass from fourth-and-three near midfield. Elgersma also led Green Bay to a field goal.

Elgersma was at quarterback for all of the Packers scoring before last season’s No. 3, Sean Clifford, entered the game with just under six minutes remaining and led the Packers to the winning score in a 23-19 victory. 

Overall, the 6-foot-5, 227-pound passer was good on seven-of-11 attempts for 109 yards, no interceptions or touchdown passes and just the one sack.

“I thought there were a lot of good things that he did,” said Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. “I was proud of the energy he brought to the offence. I thought he had great command in the huddle and was willing those guys to go out there and compete.”

“I do think there were a couple of times where he put the ball in jeopardy in some tough situations … I think there was a lot to like but also a lot to learn from.”

One of those situations came midway through the third quarter, facing third-and-seven from the Indianapolis 34-yard line when, under pressure, he made a poor decision to throw into a tight window and was intercepted. Only a facemask penalty on the defence kept that mistake off the stat sheet.

However, he also had a 20-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ben Sims erased by an offside penalty during the first half, as well.

On the positive side, Elgersma demonstrated his poise, arm strength and even some mobility, running bootlegs and scrambling for yards towards the sideline. He also had a nice touch on the ball when dumping it off on those occasions where the Colts had a free rusher.

On the flip side, he badly under-threw an open receiver on a deep route along the sideline and, at times, was slow to sense the pressure closing in around him.

Bottom line, however, he didn’t look out of place in an NFL game before 65,000 fans at Lucas Oil Stadium.

“There’s always correctables but I feel good that we were able to move the ball and get it in the end zone and that’s the job of the quarterback,” said Elgersma. “It was just getting the ball out of my hand and having a plan of attack at the line of scrimmage every single down and I feel like I’m getting better at that.”

Elgersma’s talent grabbed the Packers' attention during the off-season, leading them to invite him to a post-draft minicamp after which they made him the first former Canadian university quarterback to sign an NFL contract in more than 40 years.

Being the No. 3 would likely mean the majority of the season spent on the practice roster which would give the Packers a chance to develop his talents and allow him to acclimate to NFL football.

“For me it’s been a day-by-day thing,” he said. “What can I do today to get better tomorrow?  How can I develop and how can I show this team and these coaches that I’m getting better and I am developing and I’m worth a bit more time. For me that’s what it’s about.”

The question is whether Elgersma has done enough, or can do enough, to unseat Clifford, who was a fifth-round pick of the Packers in 2023 but has thrown just one pass through two seasons in his NFL career.

Clifford was in line for the No. 2 job last summer but the Packers instead traded for Willis, a third-round pick of Tennessee in 2022 who played in seven games for Green Bay last season.

The Packers know what they have in Clifford. Are they intrigued enough with Elgersma to make him their No. 3 this season, straight out of U Sports where he won the Hec Crighton Award as Canada’s top university football player?

It sure looks like they might be.

And with one preseason game remaining next week at Lambeau Field against the Seattle Seahawks, Elgersma may be able to control his destiny with another strong performance.