Earlier this month, the Green Bay Packers signed veteran quarterback Tyrod Taylor.

Taylor has spent time with seven NFL teams, including all three New York teams -- the Giants, Jets and Buffalo Bills -- and has made $82.6 million, according to Spotrac. Now 36, Taylor has spent 15 seasons in the NFL and proved to be a reliable backup quarterback. He has played in 100 games and thrown for more than 13,000 yards with 73 touchdowns.

As Roundtable's Andrew Kulha pointed out, Taylor will serve as a veteran leader as he backs up projected starter Jordan Love. 

Now that Taylor has been added to the Green Bay roster, it's far less likely Syracuse fans will see Kyle McCord start an NFL game this season. Who will be the next former Syracuse Orange quarterback to start an NFL game? It has been since the days of Donovan McNabb (1994-98 at Syracuse) that an Orange QB has made waves in the NFL.

The No. 2 overall pick of the 1999 NFL Draft, McNabb was a six-time Pro Bowl quarterback with three teams between 1999 and 2001.

Tommy DeVito is the most recent former Syracuse quarterback to start in the NFL and has the best chance to start again.

DeVito's most recent start came Nov. 24, 2024, in a 30-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After eight total starts with the Giants , DeVito was claimed off waivers by the New England Patriots before the start of the 2025 season. He signed a two-year contract extension with the Patriots in March.

The 27-year-old DeVito is projected to enter the season as the Patriots' backup quarterback behind Drake Maye. DeVito spent four seasons (2018-21) at Syracuse, then used the extra season granted by the NCAA following the pandemic to play at Illinois (2022).

In his Syracuse career, DeVito threw for 3,866 yards with 28 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. At Illinois, he completed a Big Ten-leading 69.6% of his passes for 2,650 yards and 13 TDs with four interceptions.

After his starting season at Illinois, DeVito was undrafted and signed with the Giants as an unrestricted free agent.

In January, McCord signed a contract with the Packers. Now that Taylor has arrived, it seems McCord could be battling for the third-string quarterback role with Desmond Ridder. The 26-year-old Ridder has appeared in 25 games with the Atlanta Falcons and Las Vegas Raiders, starting 18 of them with an 8-10 record. He has thrown for 4,002 yards with 16 TDs and 14 interceptions.

McCord, 23, was drafted in the sixth round by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2025.  The Eagles released him in January without him seeing game action.

Before spending one season at Syracuse in 2004, McCord was with Ohio State for three seasons. As a starter in college, he had a 22-4 record. In the 2024 season, he threw for 300 yards in 12 games -- a program record -- and set the Atlantic Coast Conference passing mark with 4,779 yards in a season.

McCord led the team to a Holiday Bowl win. 

Both DeVito and McCord are NFL backups and are not projected to be a starting quarterback. That means Orange fans might have to wait until current quarterback Steve Angeli moves onto the professional ranks. Angeli is not currently listed on national draft mocks to be selected, however. If Angeli is not the one, Syracuse fans might be waiting a long time until they see an alum start in NFL as a quarterback again. 

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