Packers Likely to Make Vince Young Aaron Rodgers’ Backup

Although he hasn’t played in a regular season game since 2011, Vince Young is making his presence felt in the NFL again.

Even after being signed by the Green Bay Packers earlier this month, expectations were low for Young, but he has impressed in preseason games for the Pack. And on Saturday, the team released underperforming backup Graham Harrell, a move that effectively promotes Young to the second-string position behind pro-bowler Aaron Rodgers.

The decision certainly had to do with Harrell’s ineffectiveness in practice, but it also had a lot to do with Young’s strong play, particularly in Friday’s preseason game against the Seahawks, in which Young led the Pack on a 11-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. Young also showed off his scrambling ability – rarely seen since his youthful days with the Tennessee Titans – as he dashed for 39 yards on two attempts.

“I think Vince is definitely one of the players who took advantage of his opportunities tonight,” Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said after the game, according to ESPN.com.

Young is expected to get even more playing time in the team’s last preseason game on Thursday against Kansas City and he’d like to get more familiar with the Packers’ playbook before then.

“I’m still not there yet,” Young said. “I’m still taking it one day at a time. It’s a lot coming in. I didn’t get OTAs or I didn’t get a lot of camp in, so it’s a lot trying to catch up.”

However, it shouldn’t matter too much now Young performs in the exhibition finale, considering the team’s current QB situation. The only other quarterback currently on Green Bay’s roster is B.J. Coleman, who spent all of last year on the team’s practice squad and has never appeared in an NFL game, preseason or regular season. It’s possible that the Packers could look to sign a free agent, but it’s more likely that Young has secured the backup role for the upcoming season, as Coleman doesn’t appear to be even close to contending for the job.

Of course, unless Rodgers gets injured, Young likely won’t see much regular season action in 2013. Still, his recent play has to comfort the Packers and their fans, who now know they have a solid and experienced backup to lean on in case of emergency. Bettors should also take note of Young’s resurgence and understand that all is not lost for Green Bay, even if its star does miss a few games.