Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur announces Alex McGough moving from QB to WR

If Alex McGough is going to stick around the Packers, it’ll be at wide receiver, not quarterback. Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur announced the position change as he began working with the team’s newest rookies.

McGough was the 2023 MVP of the USFL, the spring league that merged with the XFL for the new UFL, which made its premiere in late March. The Packers signed him last summer after McGough led the Birmingham Stallions to their second straight USFL championship.

“He’s a really athletic guy,” LaFleur said of McGough. “One thing I know you didn’t see last year is he spent a lot of time on the practice squad or on the scout team running receiver routes. And he did such a great job. We feel like he’s just such a talented athlete, why not give him a chance there? He’s a smart guy, works his tail off, I think he can definitely contribute on (special teams), as well. So we felt like that might be his chance here.”

After training camp last year, the Packers placed McGough on the practice squad. His role was to run the scout team offense. But he also played receiver and tight end.

Green Bay has its quarterback room all set up. Jordan Love begins his second season as the starter after leading the Packers to the second round of the NFL playoffs. Sean Clifford is the primary backup. Green Bay then selected former Tulane star Michael Pratt in the seventh round of the NFL Draft last Saturday. On Friday, Pratt, along with fellow seventh-rounder Kalen King, signed their rookie contracts with the Packers. The Packers also are looking at Jacob Eason at QB. They brought him in for a tryout this weekend.

Now, with Pratt on the roster, LaFleur switched McGough’s position. The Packers didn’t select a receiver in this year’s draft. The position, as a group, still is a young one. McGough joins Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks.

McGough has yet to play a down in the regular season of a game, although the Packers are his fourth NFL team. The Seahawks selected McGough in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He served two stints on Seattle’s practice squad. He also spent time with the Texans and Jaguars.

McGough then found success in the USFL although he was supposed to be a backup in each of his two seasons in Birmingham. McGough replaced an injured J’Mar Smith in the 2022 USFL title game. Then the next season, McGough replaced an injured Smith in the season opener.