When the Packers traded quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the Jets on April 24, someone had to move into his locker.
Who knew that someone would be a rookie?
The four-time MVP’s former home is now the property of Green Bay rookie quarterback Sean Clifford, after the Packers took the longtime Penn State gunslinger with the No. 149 pick in the 2023 draft.
Clifford, 24, played parts of five seasons for the Nittany Lions. He helped pilot Penn State to the ’23 Rose Bowl, and was named the offensive MVP of the Nittany Lions’ 35–21 win over Utah.
Asked Friday afternoon about the locker, Clifford was brief and to the point.
“It’s cool. That’s what it is,” he told reporters.
Clifford, rarely flashy but always solid with Penn State, was part of a wave of older quarterbacks selected in the '23 draft as part of the COVID-19 pandemic's long-term effects. He joined 25-year-old Hendon Hooker of the Lions, 25-year-old Stetson Bennett of the Rams, 25-year-old Jaren Hall of the Vikings, and 24-year-old Aidan O'Connell of the Raiders.
Didn’t take long for #Packers to fill Aaron Rodgers’ longtime locker. It’s now being occupied by rookie QB Sean Clifford.
— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) May 5, 2023
“I understand who was in here before, and I respect everything about that, but at the same time, I came in, I found my name on the plate, and I sat down,” Clifford said of inheriting Rodgers’s locker. “I’m doing whatever it takes to win games here. I’m very appreciative of the opportunity.”
