In the Green Bay Packers' opening game of the 2023 season versus the Chicago Bears, Sean Clifford made his NFL debut.
With a few minutes yet to play, the former Penn State quarterback replaced Jordan Love. He had one run and zero throws in the 38-20 victory over Chicago for Green Bay.
Clifford was chosen in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, as the 149th overall pick, and had just signed his first professional football contract at that time.
Spotrac reports that Clifford received a regular rookie contract worth $4.16 million, which will last four years. The deal includes around $325,000 in guaranteed funds. His yearly pay is $1.04 million on average.
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Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a future Hall of Famer, was traded by the Packers to the New York Jets prior to the 2023 season. This means that the only other quarterbacks on the team at the time were Danny Etling and Jordan Love, a 2020 first-round pick.
The Packers' quarterback room required a significant overhaul considering Aaron Rodgers accumulated over 7,500 throw attempts over his illustrious 17-season career. Then the team decided to bring Clifford into what appeared to be a thin quarterback room. Many were taken aback by his selection in the draft, as they assumed he would be an undrafted free agent. Rather, Clifford emerged as Penn State's second-highest quarterback draft product in 27 years.
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Sean Clifford's college football stats
Sean Clifford had a 61.4 completion percentage, a passer rating of 143.8, 1,073 rushing yards, 86 touchdowns, and 10,661 passing yards during his six years at Penn State.
In terms of completion rate, completed passes, passing yards, passing touchdowns, and pass attempts, the 25-year-old quarterback set program records. Additionally, he guided the group to their first Rose Bowl triumph since 1995.
Sean Clifford played his final game for Penn State against Utah in the Rose Bowl. He was named the Offensive MVP of that game after passing for 279 yards and two touchdowns to help his team win 35–21.
Clifford set career highs with 24 touchdown passes and a 64.2 completion percentage in his final season at Penn State. He also set a personal low interception mark, with only seven interceptions thrown.
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