GREEN BAY, Wis. — If you filed a 53-man roster prediction and didn’t have the Green Bay Packers releasing Kyle McCord, congratulations! You’re technically right.
But you’re also technically wrong.
The Packers didn’t release McCord—they traded him. Predictably, McCord will head to South Beach to join Jeff Hafley and Jon-Eric Sullivan with the Miami Dolphins. Hafley spent two years as the Packers’ defensive coordinator before becoming the Dolphins’ head coach this past offseason, and Sullivan was hired as the team’s new general manager after more than two decades in Green Bay.
The Dolphins are sending a 2028 sixth-round pick back to Green Bay for McCord.
Few things in this life are for certain: Death, taxes, and the Dolphins acquiring former players and coaches from Green Bay. Sean Duggan, Ryan Downard, Joe Barry, Nathaniel Hackett, Wendel Davis, Siriki Diabate, and Chuka Ndulue are all on the lengthy list of ex-coaches to venture to Miami this past offseason. Zayne Anderson, Ben Sims, and, most notably, Malik Willis make up the list of players.
Willis, who spent two seasons with the Packers as Jordan Love’s No. 2 quarterback, signed a three-year contract with the Dolphins worth $67.5 million in March. McCord will likely serve as his primary backup.
McCord, a former sixth-round pick himself, signed with the Packers shortly after the conclusion of last season. He’s spent the offseason in Green Bay and entered training camp as one of two quarterbacks vying for the No. 3 spot on the depth chart behind Love and Tyrod Taylor, a veteran free-agent acquisition. Kyron Drones, McCord’s only competition, was released after a ghastly performance in the Aug. 13 exhibition opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Across three games, McCord completed 46 passes for 446 yards and four touchdowns, but all four of those scores came in Friday night’s finale versus the Arizona Cardinals. It was the kind of performance that placed McCord on the map and put the Dolphins on notice.
With Love directing the show as the play-caller—something that he and head coach Matt LaFleur agreed to on the fly—McCord and the Packers’ offense excelled, wiping away an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter. After falling behind 38-27, McCord’s arm led the resurgence, scoring 15 unanswered points to win the game, 42-38.
McCord engineered a pair of six-play touchdown drives, each culminating with touchdown passes to second-year undrafted wideout Kisean Johnson, who caught four passes for 52 yards in the fourth quarter alone. That was just half of McCord’s scoring output for the night; he was handing out touchdowns as if they were candy on Halloween, tossing a pair of scores to J. Michael Sturdivant and Will Sheppard in the first half.
“Kyle did a heck of a job, man,” LaFleur said. “He was so poised in his ability to operate and function. I think he definitely has the demeanor, no doubt about it.
“He’s in total control out there, and he’s willing to stand in the pocket and deliver in the face of pressure. I thought he did an outstanding job.”
The Packers weren’t going to carry three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster, so rather than releasing McCord and gaining nothing, general manager Brian Gutekunst was able to flip him for a future draft pick. They still need someone to fill the emergency No. 3 role on the practice squad, so expect them to bring in another arm in the near future.