GREEN BAY, Wis. — If the past two seasons have taught Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur and general Brian Gutekunst anything, it’s that having a quality backup quarterback already on the roster is far better than trying to find one out of desperation.

That’s why there’s a good chance they’re not done looking at options behind Jordan Love now that they’ve lost Malik Willis in free agency.

Gutekunst began preparing for the inevitable loss of Willis, who signed a three-year, $67.5 million contract with the Dolphins last week, when he added journeyman Desmond Ridder late last season and then picked up street free agent Kyle McCord after the season.

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Just don’t expect that to be the last of the quarterbacks Gutekunst gives to LaFleur before the start of the season. Even if Gutekunst doesn’t add another quarterback between now and the start of training camp — although indications suggest he might do so in the draft or with a late free agent signing — he showed he’s not afraid to continue his search for a backup right up until the start of the season.

When he traded a seventh-round pick to the Titans for Willis in 2024, it happened days before the start of the regular season. He made the trade after he came away from training camp that summer unimpressed with backups Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt.

Gutekunst didn’t know it at the time, but 20 days later he would need Willis to start their Week 2 game against the Colts. Not only would Willis help the Packers win that game, but he would do so again the following week against the Titans before Love returned in Week 4 from the knee injury he sustained in the opener.

Malik Willis laughs with Packers starting quarterback Jordan Love, right, the past two years before signing with the Dolphins as a free agent in March. Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Willis performed so well in his lone start last season, versus the Ravens, that LaFleur had to reiterate that Love would be the starter when he returned from a concussion, which shows the value of a quality backup.

“We’re in a good spot with that position,” LaFleur said at the time. “Certainly have a lot of confidence in both of those guys.”

How do the Packers get back to that situation?

It’s possible that Gutekunst could wait to see how Ridder and McCord perform in OTAs.

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Ridder, a third-round pick of the Falcons in 2022, has 18 career starts, and his teams have won eight of those games. He has completed 63.6% of his passes with 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 25 career appearances but has not taken a snap since he joined the Packers on Dec. 31.

“We didn’t have him for very long, but [I] was very excited when he was with us, and certainly we’ve scouted him over a number of years,” Gutekunst said of Ridder last month at the NFL combine. “He brings some elements we would like in a backup quarterback. I think he’s got a little bit of upside. I don’t think he’s hit his full potential yet, so I’m excited about that. But there’ll be competition in there for sure.”

McCord, a sixth-round pick out of Syracuse by the Eagles last year, spent his entire rookie year on Philadelphia’s practice squad before the Packers signed him to a futures deal on Jan. 20.

“Obviously spent some time at Ohio State [and] had a really good year at Syracuse his final year,” Gutekunst said of McCord. “We really liked his moxie and his ability to [win], he won a bunch of games there, at both places. From the scouting process, always had an eye on him, and when he became available, we thought it made some sense.”

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If Gutekunst wants to add to the position before OTAs, he has options. Veteran Kirk Cousins is available, and ESPN’s Bill Barnwell wrote that Cousins might fit best with the Packers unless he’s convinced he can be a starter again elsewhere. But if Cousins wants to be a backup, then perhaps he’d be interested in Green Bay. Another possible free agent is Jimmy Garoppolo, although he may end up re-signing with the Rams.

On the trade market, former first-round pick Anthony Richardson Sr. could be an option. ESPN Colts reporter Stephen Holder listed the Packers as a potential destination for Richardson in what could be a similar reclamation project as Willis was in Green Bay.

Gutekunst also has said he would like to get back into the business of drafting and developing quarterbacks like the Packers have done so successfully the past couple of decades with the likes Matt Flynn, Matt Hasselbeck, Aaron Brooks, Mark Brunell, Ty Detmer and others.

When asked if he planned to keep adding to the quarterbacks room, Gutekunst said: “Sure, absolutely.”