American Football

Ex-Seahawks quarterback turned USFL MVP moving to wide receiver in Green Bay

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Seattle Seahawks v Green Bay Packers
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Alex McGough’s path to an NFL regular season roster will be at a new position.

It’s the quieter part of the NFL offseason, so why not check in on a former Seattle Seahawks draft pick?

Remember Alex McGough? He’s one of only two quarterbacks—I trust you know who the other one is—John Schneider has ever drafted as Seahawks general manager. Efforts to become Russell Wilson’s successor backup were unsuccessful, and he soon found himself bouncing around the NFL before falling out of the league entirely.

Back-to-back championship seasons with the USFL’s Birmingham Stallions, including league MVP honors in 2023, earned him a return to the NFL with the Green Bay Packers. He didn’t make the final roster cuts but did land on the practice squad, signing a reserve/futures contract in the offseason.

What’s in store for Mr. McGough? According to Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, he’s going to be competing for a roster spot… as a wide receiver.

From NFL.com:

“He’s a really athletic guy,” LaFleur said. “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.”

McGough never caught a pass while at Florida International University, so this is new territory for him at this level. The Packers drafted Tulane’s Michael Pratt and already have Penn State’s Sean Clifford backing up Jordan Love, so it was always going to be a tough path for McGough to make Green Bay’s team as a QB.

Green Bay already has a former Seahawks draft pick in its receiver room. Bo Melton was selected in the seventh round back in 2022 but failed to make the regular season roster, then was poached off the practice squad. Pressed into action last season, Melton caught 16 passes for 218 yards and 1 regular season touchdown, and made an additional 2 grabs for 26 yards and a touchdown in the playoffs.

The Packers will travel to the Seahawks at some point in the regular season, so if the unthinkable happens, we could get one hell of an unlikely Alex McGough revenge game.

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